Feeding Behavior

Feeds mostly in treetops, searching along small branches and twigs. Also hovers to take insects from undersides and tips of foliage. Will search dead leaf clumps; occasionally flies out to catch flying insects. In spruce forests, males tend to forage higher than females. In winter in the Andes, forages in mixed flocks with various tropical birds.

Eggs

4, sometimes 3-5. White to greenish white, with blotches of reddish brown concentrated near the larger end. Only females incubate, probably 12-13 days. Male feeds female during incubation. Young: Both parents feed nestlings. When the young leave the nest, the parents separate, each caring for part of the brood.

Young

Both parents feed nestlings. When the young leave the nest, the parents separate, each caring for part of the brood.

Diet

Mostly insects, especially caterpillars. In summer, feeds on many caterpillars, particularly those of spruce budworm; also eats beetles, ants, flies, and many other insects, also spiders. Especially during winter, will take some berries as well.

Nesting

Details of nesting behavior not well known, partly because nests are high and hard to observe. Male defends nesting territory by singing, sometimes by attacking intruding males. In courtship, male sings, and performs displays with gliding flight and fluttering wings and tail. Nest: Almost always placed in dense vegetation near tips of branches of conifers, and usually high, sometimes up to 80' above ground. Nest (probably built by female) is cup-shaped and made of twigs, bark, and fibers; lined with lichens, moss, grass, hair, and conifer needles.