If you're a birder, you'll know what a life list is. It's basically a list of all the bird species one has observed and positively ID'd in one's lifetime. This blog is a record of my "critter" life list (mostly of birds), including photos I've taken over the years, some of the actual lifer if I was lucky enough to get the shot. Don't expect National Geographic quality stuff here, just the work of an amateur photog who loves to trudge out into nature.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Phainopepla/Silky Flycatcher (Phainopepla nitens)

3/8/03 Female near a clump of desert mistletoe.
Meccacopia Trail, Box Canyon, Mecca Hills, Riverside County, CA 
5/10/14 Female on a Eureka lemon tree in our orchard.
La Cresta, Murrieta, SW Riverside County, CA
5/5/02 Male at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont, 
San Bernardino County, CA
4/29/10 Granite Loop Trail, Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological
Reserve, Murrieta, SW Riverside County, CA

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: Phainopepla/Silky Flycatcher

SPECIES: Phainopepla intense

FAMILY: Ptilogonatidae (Silky Flycatchers)

LIFE LIST DATE: 4/13/1997

LOCATION: Trail to Mastodon Peak, Cottonwood Spring, Joshua Tree National Park, Riverside County, CA

From Kaufman Focus Guide-Birds of North America:

HABITAT/BEHAVIOR: In southwest desert, this slim bird perches bolt upright atop a shrub, guarding a clump of fruiting mistletoe. Sometimes gathers in flocks when other berries are abundant. Nomadic, may be locally numerous in some seasons, scarce in others. 

IDENTIFYING MARKS: 8"; Slim and long-tailed, with spiky crest, red eyes. Male glossy black; white wing patches show mainly in flight. Female gray with paler wing edgings. 

VOICE: Soft musical gurgling. Call note a soft wurp?  with rising tone. 
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