STATUS: Common resident in suitable habitat.
HABITAT: Primarily inhabits chaparral but also inhabits other habitats from coastal brushlands up to ponderosa and black oak vegetation types where dense stands of shrubs are present.
SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Dense shrubs.
NEST: Builds a compact cup nest of coarse bark, plant fibers, and grasses, which it conceals 1 to 4 feet above the ground in shrubs such as Baccharis.
FOOD: Gleans food from bark surfaces of shrubs; eats primarily insects, spiders, and small fruits.
REFERENCES: Erickson 1938, Terres 1980, Verner and Boss 1980.