Phainopeplas are striking crested birds that inhabit the desert regions of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Their glossy black plumage and unique silvery wing patches make them easy to identify. But where specifically can these birds be found across their range?
Geographic Range
Phainopeplas are resident birds found in the hot, arid regions of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Their range extends from southern California, southern Nevada, southern Utah, western and southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and western Texas in the U.S. to the Mexican states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Durango, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí.
Within this expansive range, phainopeplas occur locally in areas with sufficient habitat, primarily desert riparian woodlands dominated by desert mistletoe. They are absent from higher mountain ranges and the wetter coastal areas. Their range closely coincides with the distribution of desert mistletoe, their main food source.
Breeding Range
Phainopeplas breed throughout their U.S. and Mexican range wherever habitat and food sources exist. Their breeding range extends from southeastern California across southern Nevada, southern Utah, southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and western Texas. They also breed south into central and eastern Baja California, Sonora, northern Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and northwestern Durango in Mexico.
Within this broad breeding range, phainopeplas nest in small, localized populations. Favored breeding areas include desert riparian woodlands along desert wash systems, palm oases, parks, and mesquite bosques. They typically avoid higher elevations above 5,000 feet.
Winter Range
Most phainopeplas do not migrate and remain resident across their breeding range year-round. However, some northern populations in the Mojave Desert region of California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona make local movements south and to lower elevations for the winter.
In California, phainopeplas retreat from the northern Mojave Desert and move south into southeastern California. In Arizona, the birds withdraw from the northwestern part of the state and move to central and southern Arizona for the winter months. Similar short-distance altitudinal movements occur in southern Nevada and southwestern Utah.
Farther south in their range, from southern California across Arizona and south into Mexico, phainopeplas mostly stay put year-round. While some local wandering may occur during winter, most remain resident in their breeding areas.
Key Habitats
Phainopeplas occupy a narrow range of desert habitats across their range. The following habitats with adequate food sources, nest sites, and cover are essential for phainopeplas throughout the year:
- Desert riparian woodlands
- Desert wash systems
- Palm oases
- Mesquite bosques
- Desert scrub
- Joshua tree woodlands
- Pinyon-juniper woodlands
These habitats have a few key features in common. They contain tall trees and shrubs that provide nesting sites, cover, and food in the form of mistletoe. Phainopeplas rely heavily on the presence of mistletoe and will disappear from areas where it is removed.
Key Locations
While phainopeplas occupy suitable desert habitats across the southwest, a few key locations consistently support higher densities of the birds throughout the year:
- Lower Colorado River Valley, AZ/CA/NV – riparian woodlands along the Colorado River and its tributaries
- Borrego Valley, CA – palm oases and desert wash woodlands
- Salton Sea, CA – mesquite bosques and riparian areas
- Big Bend Region, TX – desert riparian corridors
- Central Sonoran Desert, AZ – riparian areas along desert wash systems
- Cape Region, Baja California Sur, Mexico – desert palm oases
These areas contain extensive areas of phainopepla habitat and support sizable breeding populations. Other smaller but locally important areas occur across their range wherever conditions allow.
Population Status
Phainopepla populations appear generally stable across most of their range, although quantitative data are lacking in Mexico. The total global population is estimated at 300,000 to 3 million individual birds. In the U.S., Partners in Flight estimate a breeding population of 730,000 phainopeplas as of 2020.
While still common, phainopeplas have disappeared from some peripheral areas in California and Arizona where mistletoe has been removed. Ongoing habitat loss also threatens populations in parts of Baja California, Mexico. But across most of their core range, phainopeplas are doing well thanks to the inaccessibility and protection of their desert habitats.
Conclusion
Phainopeplas occupy a distinct swath of desert habitats across the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. Though resident across most of their range, some birds move locally to lower wintering areas. Well-adapted to hot, dry conditions, phainopeplas rely on the presence of desert mistletoe and can be found wherever it grows abundantly. While an interesting component of desert bird communities, loss of habitat and food sources in some areas causes local declines.