This bird seems to be more timid and aloof than the happy-go-lucky eastern relative and less inclined to musical expression. In prairie regions they locate their nests on the ground instead of deserting the level terrain for wooded country.
Western North America. Breeds mainly in Canadian and Transition zones from Southeastern Alaska, southern British Columbia and central Montana, south to southern California and east to border of the Great Plains. Winters from southern British Columbia and Wyoming southward.
Southeastern United States. Breeds in southern part of Carolinian zone from southern Illinois and Maryland to northern Mississippi, northern Georgia and South Carolina.
A tree from 30 to (rarely) 90 feet high, distributed from southern Maine, the central west, south to central Florida and Brazos River Valley, Texas.