Phainopepla

Description:

Dimorphic species. Males are glossy black overall and can appear blue-black in bright sunlight. A broad white patch on the primary feathers is visible in flight. The ragged, pointed crest is often raised. Legs and feet are dark, and the eyes are red. Females are an allover slate or ash gray with fine white edging on all wing feathers. Their wing patches do not contrast as prominently as those of male birds, but they share the same pointed crest and red eyes. Juvenile birds resemble females with the same white wing edging but show a gray-brown plumage and dark orange or brown eyes. As juvenile males mature, their gray-brown plumage may become mottled with black feathers.

Habitat:

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a 98-acre (40 ha) zoo, aquarium, botanical garden, natural history museum, publisher, and art gallery founded in 1952. Located just west of Tucson, Arizona, it features two miles (3.2 km) of walking paths traversing 21 acres (8.5 ha) of desert landscape. The nonprofit organization focuses on the interpretation of the natural history, plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert.