STATUS: Common to abundant.
HABITAT: Inhabits deserts with extensive thickets of thorny shrubs (paloverde and mesquite) and dense large cactus (saguaro and cholla), and in brushy riparian and residental areas. Prefers areas with thorny shrubs and thickets at the edge of woodlands.
SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Desert shrubs.
NEST: Usually builds nest in the fork of cholla cactus but may be in yucca, clumps of mistletoe in mesquite and cottonwood, or in mesquite or similar thickets. Favors nest sites at the edge of woodlands or in cultivated areas.
FOOD: Digs in the soil with its curved bill searching for food, and eats beetles, other insects, seeds of cacti, berries, and other fruit.
REFERENCES: Oberholser 1974b, Terres 1980, Terrill in Farrand 1983c.