The handsome male Phainopepla is clad in sleek black plumage that inspired its name, a composite of the Greek words phainos (shining) and peplos (robe). The male also has striking white wing patches that are visible as he flies. Female and juvenile Phainopeplas are a more subtle ash-gray, with white edging on their wing feathers instead of the male’s bold white patches. Both sexes have bright red eyes, small, short bills, and ragged-looking crests.
Often described as a “black cardinal with a red eye,” the Phainopepla is actually unrelated to the Northern Cardinal. Instead, it belongs to the Silky-flycatcher family, a small group of lustrous-plumaged, mainly fruit-eating birds found only in the southwestern United States and Central America. The Cedar Waxwing is a close relative, and was only recently split into its own family, the Bombycillidae.
One aspect of the Phainopepla’s life cycle still remains a mystery. How has this silky beauty kept scientists guessing?
Read on to find out more: https://abcbirds.org/bird/phainopepla
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