STATUS: Fairly common to rare.
HABITAT: In Arizona, occurs in cottonwoods, dense mesquite thickets, and in sycamore-live oak-mesquite associations. Along the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas, inhabits mesquite woodlands, cottonwoods, willows, elms, and great luecaenas.
NEST: Typically nests far out on a horizontal limb of a bush or tree up to 50 feet high, but usually near the ground. Usually nests along the edge of a grove, or among scattered trees in flat, sandy lowlands. Locates nest in a clump of mistletoe or sometimes between the bases of stems of palmetto fans.
FOOD: Perches on the top branch of a tree or in lower branches to flycatch and glean scale insects, caterpillars, and ants. Occasionally eats small berries and seeds.
REFERENCES: Bent 1942, Harrison 1979, Oberholser 1974a, Phillips et al. 1964, Terres 1980.