- Sayornis phoebe
Identification
12·4–16·8 cm (4¾-6½ in)
- Gray-brown above
- White throat
- Dirty gray breast
- Yellowish underparts which (become whiter during the season)
- Lack of both an eye ring and wing bars, and an all dark bill distinguish it from other American flycatchers
- Pumps its tail up and down like other phoebes
Similar Species
Compare the similar Eastern Wood Pewee, which has stronger wing-bars and does not bob its tail habitually.
Distribution
A partial migrant that begins to leave breeding areas in September and returning March-May. Breeds in central and eastern Canada and throughout the eastern USA.
Winters in the south-east USA to Mexico.
In the Western Palearctic recorded only in Britain, on Lundy Island off Devon in April 1987 and probably the same bird was seen at Slapton, Devon shortly before, although this report is not currently accepted.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Usually found in woodland and scrub near flowing water.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists mostly of insects, supplemented by fruit from autumn to spring.
Vocalisation
Voice: a quick rough phoebe.
Do not confuse with the much sweeter phoebe song of the Black-capped Chickadee.
Song:
Recording © by NJLarsen, Carolina Sandhills NWR, South Carolina, USA, 29 April 2023
Gallery
Click on photo for larger image
Photo by STEFFRO1
Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, October 2014
Immature
Photo by Newton-W
Pineville, West Virginia, June, 2017
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2014)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Eastern Phoebe. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Eastern_Phoebe
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
