Black Phoebe (BLPH)

This little flycatcher is ubiquitous in SoCal, favoring gardens with plenty of small flying insects. They set themselves up on a branch or a sprinkler head, darting out in acrobatic flight to catch bugs on the wing, then return to their lookout. (If a BLPH catches something large-ish, you’ll see it “subduing” its prey by holding it in his/her beak and banging it on a hard surface, not an unusual practice for insectivorous birds. Cruel Nature!)