Eastern phoebe

Last updated

Eastern phoebe
Sayornis phoebe -Owen Conservation Park, Madison, Wisconsin, USA-8.jpg
At Madison, Wisconsin
Song, recorded in Beltrami, MN
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Tyrannidae
Genus: Sayornis
Species:
S. phoebe
Binomial name
Sayornis phoebe
(Latham, 1790)
Sayornis phoebe map.svg

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". [2] Phoebe is an alternative name for the Roman moon-goddess Diana, but it may also have been chosen to imitate the bird's call. [3]

Contents

Description

Measurements: [4]

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. [5]

It often nests on human structures such as bridges and buildings. Nesting activity may start as early as the first days of April. [6] 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).

Habitat

Eastern phoebes are highly adaptable to urban environments. They are primarily found in wooded areas, particularly streamsides, and farmlands. Eastern phoebes tend to avoid open areas and choose spots beneath trees, brushy areas or overhangs. However, during migration in winters or in breeding season they are frequently seen around the edges of woods and other areas where water sources are abundant. [7]

Breeding

The eastern phoebe breeds in eastern North America excluding the southeastern coastal United States. The breeding habitat 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.

Migration

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. [6] [5] 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 [8] as well as range expansions of many other species of birds. [9] [10] [11]

In literature

Phoebes appear in the poem "The Need of Being Versed in Country Things", published in 1923 by Robert Frost. The poem describes phoebes nesting inside a barn on a farm abandoned after the farmhouse burned to the ground. The poem ends "One had to be versed in country things/Not to believe the phoebes wept".

They also appear in the Mary Oliver poem "The Messenger".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American crow</span> Species of bird

The American crow is a large passerine bird species of the family Corvidae. It is a common bird found throughout much of North America. American crows are the New World counterpart to the carrion crow and the hooded crow of Eurasia; they all occupy the same ecological niche. Although the American crow and the hooded crow are very similar in size, structure and behavior, their calls and visual appearance are different.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue jay</span> Species of bird

The blue jay is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to eastern North America. It lives in most of the eastern and central United States; some eastern populations may be migratory. Resident populations are also in Newfoundland, Canada; breeding populations are found across southern Canada. It breeds in both deciduous and coniferous forests, and is common in residential areas. Its coloration is predominantly blue, with a white chest and underparts, and a blue crest; it has a black, U-shaped collar around its neck and a black border behind the crest. Males and females are similar in size and plumage, and plumage does not vary throughout the year. Four subspecies have been recognized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-faced ibis</span> Species of bird

The white-faced ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bufflehead</span> Species of bird

The bufflehead is a small sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Anas albeola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chipping sparrow</span> Species of bird

The chipping sparrow is a species of New World sparrow, a passerine bird in the family Passerellidae. It is widespread, fairly tame, and common across most of its North American range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern bluebird</span> Species of bird

The eastern bluebird is a small North American migratory thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands, and orchards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barred owl</span> Species of owl

The barred owl, also known as the northern barred owl, striped owl or, more informally, hoot owl or eight-hooter owl, is a North American large species of owl. A member of the true owl family, Strigidae, they belong to the genus Strix, which is also the origin of the family's name under Linnaean taxonomy. Barred owls are largely native to eastern North America, but have expanded their range to the west coast of North America where they are considered invasive. Mature forests are their preferred habitat, but they can also acclimatise to various gradients of open woodlands. Their diet consists mainly of small mammals, but this species is an opportunistic predator and is known to prey upon other small vertebrates such as birds, reptiles, and amphibians, as well as a variety of invertebrates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern screech owl</span> Species of owl

The eastern screech owl or eastern screech-owl, is a small owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada. This species resides in most types of woodland habitats across its range, and is relatively adaptable to urban and developed areas compared to other owls. Although it often lives in close proximity to humans, the eastern screech owl frequently avoids detection due to its strictly nocturnal habits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine siskin</span> Species of bird

The pine siskin is a North American bird in the finch family. It is a migratory bird with an extremely sporadic winter range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose-breasted grosbeak</span> Species of bird

The rose-breasted grosbeak, colloquially called "cut-throat" due to its coloration, is a large, seed-eating grosbeak in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). It is primarily a foliage gleaner. Males have black heads, wings, backs, and tails, and a bright rose colored patch on their white breast. Males and females exhibit marked sexual dimorphism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooded oriole</span> Species of bird

The hooded oriole is a medium-sized New World oriole. The male of this species ranges in color from a bright orange to a paler yellow, with a black back, face, tail and bib, with the wing containing two white bars. The female is more of an olive color with some yellow accents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarlet tanager</span> Species of bird

The scarlet tanager is a medium-sized American songbird. Until recently, it was placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), but it and other members of its genus are now classified as belonging to the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). The species' plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family, although the Piranga species lacks the thick conical bill that many cardinals possess. The species resides in thick deciduous woodlands and suburbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veery</span> Species of bird

The veery is a small North American thrush species, a member of a group of closely related and similar species in the genus Catharus, also including the gray-cheeked thrush, Bicknell's thrush, Swainson's thrush, and hermit thrush. Alternate names for this species include Wilson's thrush and tawny thrush. Up to six subspecies exist, which are grouped into the eastern veery, the western veery or willow thrush, and the Newfoundland veery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western kingbird</span> Species of bird

The western kingbird is a large tyrant flycatcher found throughout western environments of North America, as far south as Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern wood pewee</span> Species of bird

The eastern wood pewee is a small tyrant flycatcher from North America. This bird and the western wood pewee were formerly considered a single species. The two species are virtually identical in appearance, and can be distinguished most easily by their calls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Say's phoebe</span> Species of bird

Say's phoebe is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family, Tyrannidae. A common bird across western North America, it prefers dry, desolate areas. It was named for Thomas Say, an American naturalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black phoebe</span> Species of bird in the tyrant-flycatcher family

The black phoebe is a passerine bird in the tyrant-flycatcher family. It breeds from southwest Oregon and California south through Central and South America. It occurs year-round throughout most of its range and migrates less than the other birds in its genus, though its northern populations are partially migratory. Six subspecies are commonly recognized, although two are occasionally combined as a separate species, the white-winged phoebe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melodious blackbird</span> Species of bird

The melodious blackbird is a New World tropical bird.

Avian range expansion describes how birds expand their habitat. Because of the activities of birdwatchers, these range expansions are well documented.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown thrasher</span> Species of bird

The brown thrasher, sometimes erroneously called the brown thrush or fox-coloured thrush, is a bird in the family Mimidae, which also includes the New World catbirds and mockingbirds. The brown thrasher is abundant throughout the eastern and central United States and southern and central Canada, and it is the only thrasher to live primarily east of the Rockies and central Texas. It is the state bird of Georgia.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Sayornis phoebe". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22699886A93753946. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22699886A93753946.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . London: Christopher Helm. p.  349. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  3. "Phoebe" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  4. "Eastern Phoebe Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  5. 1 2 Ohio Ornithological Society (2004): Annotated Ohio state checklist Archived July 18, 2004, at the Wayback Machine .
  6. 1 2 Henninger, W.F. (1906). "A preliminary list of the birds of Seneca County, Ohio" (PDF). Wilson Bull. 18 (2): 47–60.
  7. "Eastern Phoebe: Description, Pictures, & Fun Facts". 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  8. 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.
  9. Livezey KB. 2009a. Range expansion of Barred Owls, part I: chronology and distribution. American Midland Naturalist 161:49–56.
  10. Livezey KB. 2009b. Range expansion of Barred Owls, part 2: facilitating ecological changes. American Midland Naturalist 161:323–349.
  11. Livezey, Kent B. (December 2010). "Killing Barred Owls to Help Spotted Owls II: Implications for Many Other Range-Expanding Species". Northwestern Naturalist. 91 (3): 251–270. doi:10.1898/nwn09-38.1. ISSN   1051-1733. S2CID   85425945.