This kingbird species is found in tall open vegetation, usually at the margins of water courses. It sits low over the water to high in the canopy waiting for flying insects to approach. Late in the summer and during the winter they will also eat fruits. The shallow nest is placed fairly high in a tree and made of sticks and bark.
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Almost entirely limited to grassy meadows, marsh edges, and prairie areas, this sparrow is most easily seen perching on a tall grass or on a barbed wire fence. The grassy nest is concealed on the ground usually under overhanging grasses. During the summer, spiders and insects are added to the seed diet. In the winter, the Savannah Sparrow often occurs together with several other species of sparrows in scattered flocks in grassy areas.
This attractive sparrow often flocks in open grassy areas, shrubby fields and savannas. The Lark Sparrow feeds mostly on seeds, but it provides insects to the young. The nest is on the ground or in a low shrub or rock crevice and made of grass and twigs.
Restricted to open chaparral and juniper habitats, this species often joins small foraging flocks of sparrows and juncoes. It nests in tree cavities and eats both fruits and insects, which are gleaned off leaves and other vegetation.
During the winter, this thrush skulks in thick underbrush of riparian forests and low elevation woodlands. In the summer it nests in mixed coniferous and broad-leafed mature forests at higher elevations and latitudes. It feeds on the ground where it eats insects and later in the season enjoys berries from low bushes. The nest is on the ground or low in a shrub or tree, and it is made of weeds, wood chips, moss and mud.
Found in grassy fields, prairies, and open savanna, this sparrow is relatively easy to locate by its insect-like song in the summer. In the winter, however, it is shy and extremely hard to find, even where it is common. It eats seeds and insects during the summer. The nest is a cup-like depression in the ground, lined with fine grass and usually concealed by overhanging grasses.
Often hard to see, only its beautiful song echoing against cliffs and steep boulders shows how common the Canyon Wren is. It prefers open dry or semi-dry areas with little or low vegetation. Here it hops into small niches and atop rocks as it searches for insects. The small cup-nest is placed in a small dark cave among rocks and is made of moss, leaves and spider webbing.
This species is characteristic of mountain meadows, and the distinctive trilling whistle of the male can be heard easily as it hovers near low flowers or flies full speed high over head. This loud trill is made by air moving quickly through gaps in the wing tip feathers. The nest is tended only by the female and is a tiny cup made of spider webbing, lichens and plant down. It is placed on a horizontal branch, often in a shrub near a mountain stream. Food is flower nectar, insects and spiders caught on leaves, and occasionally tree sap.
Conspicuous and noisy, the Bridled Titmouse is a common species in pine-oak woodlands and riparian areas of the southwest. Small family groups often become the nucleus around which many other species form mixed foraging parties in the middle and upper levels of the forest. It feeds mainly on insects gleaned from leaves and vegetation. The nest is in a natural tree cavity.
With the long tail cocked up over it back, this noisy wren is obvious in bushy undergrowth and shrubby areas. It makes its nest in a low tree hole or other cavity and occasionally in the dark recesses of old buildings. It feeds almost exclusively on insects and spiders that it takes from leaves and vegetation. The song of the male varies tremendously across its range. East of the Mississippi River its populations are declining noticeably.