Eastern phoebe
| Eastern phoebe | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| At Madison, Wisconsin | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Suborder: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | |
| Species: |
S. phoebe
|
| Binomial name | |
| Sayornis phoebe (Latham, 1790)
|
|
Lua error in Module:Taxonbar/candidate at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
The eastern phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) is a small passerine bird. This tyrant flycatcher breeds in eastern North America, although its normal range does not include the southeastern coastal United States.
It is migratory, wintering in the southernmost United States and Central America. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe. This is one of the first birds to return to the breeding grounds in spring and one of the last to leave in the fall. They arrive for breeding in mid-late March, but they return to winter quarters around the same time when other migrant songbirds do, in September and early October; migration times have stayed the same in the last 100 years.[2][3] The increase in trees throughout the Great Plains during the past century due to fire suppression and tree planting facilitated a western range expansion of the eastern phoebe[4] as well as range expansions of many other species of birds.[5][6][7]
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.[3]
The breeding habitat of the eastern phoebe is open woodland, farmland and suburbs, often near water. This phoebe is insectivorous, and often perches conspicuously when seeking food items. It also eats fruits and berries in cooler weather.
It often nests on human structures such as bridges and buildings. Nesting activity may start as early as the first days of April.[2] 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-parasitic brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater).
Photo gallery
-
Sayornis phoebe -Madison, Wisconsin, USA-8.jpg
In Wisconsin
-
Sayornis phoebe CT3 crop.jpg
Taken at Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area, Quebec
-
Sayornis phoebe.ogv
At Ripon, Quebec
-
Nest with one brown-headed cowbird egg
-
PhoebeNest.jpg
Immature birds in a nest, Norman, Oklahoma
-
Phoebe, Eastern-Fledgeling.jpg
Older fledglings in nest
-
Eastern Phoebe1.jpg
Front view
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ohio Ornithological Society (2004): Annotated Ohio state checklist.
- ↑ Weeks HP. 1994. Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), no. 94. In: A. Poole (ed.). The Birds of North America Online. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.
- ↑ Livezey KB. 2009a. Range expansion of Barred Owls, part I: chronology and distribution. American Midland Naturalist 161:49–56.
- ↑ Livezey KB. 2009b. Range expansion of Barred Owls, part 2: facilitating ecological changes. American Midland Naturalist 161:323–349.
- ↑ Livezey KB. 2010. Killing barred owls to help spotted owls II: implications for many other range-expanding species. Northwestern Naturalist 91:251–270.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sayornis phoebe. |
 |
Wikispecies has information related to: Sayornis phoebe |
- Eastern phoebe – Sayornis phoebe – USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Eastern phoebe species account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Audio of eastern phoebe song (AU-format) - Songs and calls of some New York State birds
- Eastern phoebe videos, photos, and sounds at the Internet Bird Collection
- Eastern phoebe photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
- Interactive range map of Sayornis phoebe at IUCN Red List maps
