STATUS: Abundant.
HABITAT: Found in nearly all habitats from tree limit in sparsely wooded barrens up to 12,000 feet in the mountains of the West, along forest borders, hedges, orchards, gardens, city parks, and in suburban yards.
SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Mud for nest building.
NEST: Places nest, constructed of mud and vegetation, on almost any substantial support, usually in a fork or on a horizontal branch of a shrub or tree; rarely on the ground.
FOOD: Feeds mostly on the ground, searching for almost any edible substance; but also picks fruits from trees and shrubs. Consumes a diet that is about 42 percent animal and 58 percent vegetable.
REFERENCES: Beal 1915b, Forbush and May 1955, Knupp et al. 1977, Terres 1980, Young 1955.