Phainopepla

I thought this was a very cool looking bird.  I saw quite a few of these in Arizona.
The Phainopepla is a striking bird with a noticeable crest and a long tail; it is slender, and has an upright posture when it perches. Its bill is short and slender. The male is glossy black, and has a white wing patch that is visible when it flies; the female is plain gray and has a lighter gray wing patch. Both sexes have red eyes, but these are more noticeable in the female than the male.
 Berries, any small insects, fruits, vegetables. Phainopepla have a specialized mechanism in their gizzard that shucks berry skins off the fruit and packs the skins separately from the rest of the fruit into the intestines for more efficient digestion. So far this is the only known bird able to do this.
He looks rather like our Stellar Jay and is sometimes called a Black Jay.

To see more fascinating birds go to http://www.paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com/ and enjoy!