An uncommon summer resident and migrant in coastal California and in foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Mostly gleans from foliage of shrubs and low trees. Frequents dense, brushy thickets and tangles near water, and thick understory in riparian woodland. Yearlong, diurnal activity. There are a few late fall and winter records, mostly from southern California.
Migrants sometimes pass through lower elevations in mountains.
Lays 3-6 eggs, usually 3 or 4. Subject to occasional predation by accipiters, small mammals, and snakes. Loss and degradation of riparian habitat have caused a marked decline in the breeding population in recent decades in California. Size of home range in eight bird species in a southern Illinois swamp- thicket. Dennis, J. V. 1958.