Eastern Phoebe
Sayornis phoebe
Summary 4
The eastern phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) is a small passerine bird. The genus name Sayornis is constructed from the specific part of Charles Lucien Bonaparte's name for Say's phoebe, Muscicapa saya, and Ancient Greek ornis, "bird". Phoebe is an alternative name for the Roman moon-goddess Diana, but it may also have been chosen to imitate the bird's call.
Description 5
Measurements:
This species appears remarkably big-headed, especially if it puffs up the small crest. Its plumage is gray-brown above. It has a white throat, dirty gray breast and buffish underparts which become whiter during the breeding season. Two indistinct buff bars are present on each wing. Its lack of an eye ring and wingbars, and its all dark bill distinguish it from other North American tyrant flycatchers, and it pumps its tail up and down like other phoebes when perching on a branch. The eastern phoebe's call is a sharp chip, and the song, from which it gets its name, is fee-bee.
The eastern wood pewee (Contopus virens) is extremely similar in appearance. It lacks the buff hue usually present on the lighter parts of the eastern phoebe's plumage, and thus has always clearly defined and contrasting wing-bars. It also does not bob its tail habitually, and appears on the breeding grounds much later though it leaves for winter quarters at about the same time as the eastern phoebe.
It often nests on human structures such as bridges and buildings. Nesting activity may start as early as the first days of April. The nest is an open cup with a mud base and lined with moss and grass, built in crevice in a rock or man-made site; two to six eggs are laid. Both parents feed the young and usually raise two broods per year. The eastern phoebe is occasionally host to the nest-parasiticbrown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater).
Sources and Credits
- (c) Pedro Alanis, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Pedro Alanis
- (c) John Beetham, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/dendroica/16928211190/
- (c) Lee Elliott, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Lee Elliott
- Adapted by Desmon M Dunn from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayornis_phoebe
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_phoebe
