STATUS: Rare to locally common.
HABITAT: Inhabits thorn scrub, oak-juniper woodland, pinyon-juniper, dry chaparral, mesquite, and riparian willow habitats. Favors dry chaparral that forms a continuous zone of twigs 1 to 5 feet above ground.
SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Low, dense shrubs.
NEST: Builds a basketlike cup nest that is suspended 3 to 8 feet above the ground from the forks of twigs in a variety of low, thorny shrubs and small trees.
FOOD: Gleans food (mostly insects) from leaves and branches of scrub oaks and other thickets.
REFERENCES: Chapin 1925, Johnsgard 1979, Terres 1980, Terrill in Farrand 1983c.