Olive Thorne Miller says that one of these birds frequently rested for long periods with body held at Robin or Sparrow angle, with head swinging as mechanically as an elephant moves its trunk. Its toilet was prolonged and meticulous, every feather being carefully put in order. The bill was scraped and polished to the tip by her claws, the leg thrown over the wing. It was astonishing what she could do with her legs — pausing in midair and thrusting one over a vibrating wing and scratching her head or standing sturdily on them while probing a blossom. She hovered along the fence stakes — laths an inch apart — collecting tiny spiders from the tips.
Mountain regions of western United States; north to Montana, east to western Nebraska, New Mexico and western Texas.