Phainopepla nitens
Phainopepla
Enrique Lamadrid
Primeros encuentros, Capulineros
First encounters, Phainopeplas
Sierra del Olvido
Fall harvest, septiembre:
Mantle of thin desert fog below
granite spires filter dawn light above
fallen rocks, hidden canyon, no trail.
Impenetrable granjeno hackberry,
tangled with wild grape vines.
Upslope - wolfberry, sumac, soapberry,
clusters of muérdago mistletoe
in every mountain mahogany.
Networked chorus of sharp single cries,
metallic baroque refrains in alternation.
Noisy hidden thicket banquet,
systematic berry gorge amidst
muffled chuckles of codorniz,
no quail,
mimic chortles of verdín,
no verdin,
single churp of carpintero escapulario,
no flicker,
All this ruckus, only phainopeplas,
and mimic phantom friends
carefully chosen, not random
like cenzontle, brother mockingbird.
Perched in topmost branches
of the tallest mesquite around,
captain of the capulín,
a single male, keeps lookout.
Crazy disheveled crest, eyes
bright red as desert cherries,
shining black silk feathers
combing the desert wind.
Gavilán catches thermals overhead,
the sentinel's singular shriek
mobilizes mockingbird,
toquí the towhee, even tiny colibrí
the hummingbird musters forth.
The defense squadron takes wing,
phainopepla flashes white
wing patches leading areal charge,
relentlessly mobbing the hawk
to next canyon, out of danger.
Spring hunt, marzo:
Flocks split into family bands,
disperse across desert valleys,
following the renaissance
of hatching flies flitting
between tornillo mesquites
and gobernadora creosote,
from cottonwood bosques that
shade the Río Grande's banks
to rocky horizons beyond.
Newly territorial male guards
against intruders of his kind,
distracted by the buzzing,
he spirals out acrobatic
catching flies right and left,
true to his other vocation.
Verdugo, the executioner,
uncle shrike, raptor songbird
springs silent from cholla,
grabs phainopepla unaware.
Piercing shrieks attracts no help,
so he mimics a flock of doves
taking sudden flight to no effect,
then mimics aguililla cola roja,
red tail hawk? Shrike looks up
distracted but half a second
then returns to his deadly task,
impales his prey on cactus spines.
Red-eyed grey females look on
horrified, half hidden in their nests,
hunkering down determined
guarding the next generations.
~~~~~
note: All details from field observation, except the death scene. Phainopeplas can mimic up to nineteen other species, many of which answer their calls. Instead of blurting them out like mockingbirds, they seemingly select and direct them for their own purposes and needs. Besides the five species in the poem, they also mimic ravens, jays, finches, woodpeckers, and kestrels (Chu 2001). Shrikes will take an occasional phainopepla, even though they are comparable in size. They stash their prey in cactus or tree nooks for storage. Only one ornithologist has observed a phainopepla kill in the field (Weathers 1983). These desert birds are so singular and charismatic, that I have no doubt they must figure in the lore and mythologies of the desert tribes of northern Mexico and the borderlands. Keep your ears open and share stories - lamadrid@unm.edu.
Glosario - Glossary
Primeros encuentros - first encounters
Sierra del Olvido - Oblivion Mountains, one of the earliest names of the Organ Mountains on Spanish colonial maps
septiembre, marzo - September, March
Phainopepla nitens (Greek for shining robe), Silky Flycatcher (but not from the flycatcher family), Capulinero (Lord of the Chokecherries, northern Mexico)
Flora: Capulín - chokecherry (up to three or four species of prunus) or generic for any bush berry fruit. Granjeno - hackberry. Muérdago - desert mistletoe. Mesquite - mesquite. Tornillo - screw, as in screwbean mesquite. Gobernadora (hediondilla in Sonora) - creosote bush. Bosque - forest, in this case, of cottonwoods. Cholla - cholla.
Birds: Cordorniz - quail. Verdín (also moscón baloncito) - verdin. Carpintero escapulario (carpinter with a scapulary) - flicker. Cenzontle - mockingbird. Gavilán - sparrow hawk, Coopers, Sharpshinned, and others. Toquí - towhee. Colibrí (also chuparrosa) - hummingbird. Verdugo (also alcaudón) - shrike. Aguililla cola roja - red tail hawk.
~~~~~
Enrique Lamadrid is a borderlands literary and bio-regional folklorist from Albuquerque and the Río Arriba, fascinated with natural histories in Nuevomexicano and Mexicano oral tradition, ethno-ornithology, and ethno-taxonomies.