Habitat
Breeds in boreal and subalpine spruce or fir forests. Also occurs in mixed forests, deciduous forests, and single species stands. Nests in open or closed canopies, edges of clearings, near water, logged areas, burned areas, and either dense or sparse understory (Beedy 1981, Peck and James 1987, Franzreb and Ohmart 1978, Titterington et al. 1979, Wetmore et al. 1985). In the Yukon, breeding birds are found almost exclusively in old- growth white spruce forests (Alexander et al. 2003). Wintering habitat in Alaska includes coniferous forests, willow, black cottonwood, alder thickets, pinon-juniper, woodlands, riparian forests, and residential areas (Jewett et al. 1953, LaGory et al. 1984, Andrews and Righter 1992).
References
Alexander, S. A., F. I. Doyle, C. D. Ecker, H. Grünberg, N. L. Hughes, M. Jensen, I. Johnson, D. H. Mossop, W. A. Nixon, and P. H. Sinclair. 2003. Birds of the Yukon Territory (P. H. Sinclair, W. A. Nixon, C. D. Eckert, and N. L. Hughes, eds.). UBC Press, Vancouver, B.C.
Andrews, R. and R. Righter. 1992. Colorado birds: a reference to their distribution and habitat. Denver Mus. Nat. Hist., Denver, CO.
Beedy, E. C. 1981. Bird communities and forest structure in the Sierra Nevada of California. Condor 83:97-105.
Franzreb, K. E., and R. D. Ohmart. 1978. The effects of timber harvesting on breeding birds in a mixed- coniferous forest. Condor 80:431-441.

Jewett, S. G., W. P. Taylor, W.T. Shaw, and J. W. Aldrich. 1953. Birds of Washington State. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington.
LaGory, K. E., M. K. LaGory, D. M. Meyers, and S. G. Herman. 1984. Niche relationships in wintering mixed-species flocks in western Washington. Wilson Bulletin 96:108-116.
Peck, G.K., and R.D. James. 1987. Breeding birds of Ontario: nidiology and distribution, volume 2. Passerines. Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario.
Titterington, R. W., H. S. Crawford, and B. N. Burgason. 1979. Songbird responses to commercial clear- cutting in Maine spruce-fir forests. Journal of Wildlife Management 42:602-609.
Wetmore, S. P, R. A. Keller, and G. E. John Smith. 1985. Effects of logging on bird populations in British Columbia as determined by a modified point-count method. Can. Field Nat. 99: 224-233.
