STATUS: Common.
HABITAT: Primarily inhabits relatively open stands of deciduous forests in uplands or floodplains, but also found in or near orchards, brushy woodlands or chaparral, edges or transitions between grasslands and woodlands, riparian groves or thickets, and parks or suburbs with many trees.
NEST: Builds a bulky, open-cup nest 4 to 12 feet above the ground in a fork of a variety of shrubs or small trees. Mostly nests (about 80 percent) in deciduous trees and shrubs.
FOOD: Gleans food from leaves, stems, or the ground. Mostly (about 57 percent) eats animal material (mainly spiders and insects); also eats vegetable foods (seeds and fruits.)
REFERENCES: Bent 1968a, Bevier in Farrand 1983c, Johnsgard 1979, Terres 1980, Weston 1947.