Phainopepla
Phainopepla nitens

f4.5 @ 1/1600s, ISO:800, Nikon D3S w 500mm

"Phainopepla," Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Their diet consists of berries, any small insects, fruits, vegetables. Phainopepla have a specialized mechanism in their gizzard that shucks berry skins off the fruit and packs the skins separately from the rest of the fruit into the intestines for more efficient digestion. So far this is the only known bird able to do this. They appear to relish the fruit of Phoradendron californicum, the desert mistletoe.

Green Valley, Arizona

04/29/2018