STATUS: Fairly common.
HABITAT: Generally found below 6,000 feet but does occur up to 7,500 feet in montane pine-oak woodlands. Prefers dense scrub oak thickets on hillsides but also occurs along canyon streams where trees grow thick enough to provide deep shade.
SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Natural cavities or old woodpecker holes in trees for nesting.
NEST: Builds nests in natural cavities in trees and stumps or in old woodpecker holes, 4 to 50 feet above the ground, in oaks, sycamores, or ashes.
FOOD: Eats small insects.
REFERENCES: Bent 1942, Cottam and Knappen 1939, Harrison 1979, Phillips et al. 1964, Terres 1980.