Think of a pyrrhuloxia as a southwestern desert cardinal ... The slate gray birds have varying amounts of red in their plumage. In addition to the crimson highlights in the crests, wings and ...

I could see its red eyes through my binoculars as it looked ... years studying this bird and its mysterious vanishing act. Desert birds live on the edge. Summer heat can rise to lethal levels ...

When I arrived at the desert field station and stepped out onto the gravel, I was hit all at once by the heat, the quiet, and a thrilling sight: a slender jet-black bird, perched on a twisted tree. I ...