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Eastern Phoebe

Sayornis phoebeOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Flycatchers (Tyrannidae)

Eastern Phoebe Worn Summer Portrait
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General

Eastern Phoebe: Small flycatcher with dark gray-brown upperparts and slightly darker wings and tail. Underparts are pale with hint of olive-brown or yellow on sides and breast. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Eastern Phoebe: Breeds north of the Mason-Dixon Line in North America; spends winters as far north as the Ohio River.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"chip";"FEE-be"

Interesting Facts

 The Eastern Phoebe was the first bird to be banded in North America. In 1804, John James Audubon used a silver thread attached to its leg to note when the bird would return each year.

 Of the three Phoebe species, the Eastern Phoebe’s call most closely resembles its name.

 Unlike most songbirds who must hear other birds to hone their vocalizations, an Eastern Phoebe raised in isolation will still sing a perfect song.

 A group of flycatchers has many collective nouns, including "an outfield of flycatchers", "a swatting of flycatchers", "a zapper of flycatchers", and a "zipper of flycatchers."



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Eastern Phoebe
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Flycatcher (Tyrannidae)_blue
Species Sayornis phoebe
Length7 Inches
Wingspan11.5 Inches

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Phoebe: Small flycatcher with dark gray-brown upperparts and slightly darker wings and tail. Underparts are pale with hint of olive-brown or yellow on sides and breast. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Feeds on insects, small fish, berries and fruit. Weak fluttering bouyant flight.

● Song: "chip";"FEE-be"

● Foraging & Feeding: Eastern Phoebe: Feeds on insects, small fish, berries, and fruits. Forages from atop tree branches and other perches, flying out to catch prey in mid-air; also gleans food from foliage, on the ground, and at the water surface.

● Breeding & nesting: Eastern Phoebe: Two to eight white eggs with occasional red brown spots are laid in a nest made of mud pellets covered with moss and lined with grass, weeds, leaves, hair, and feathers. Nest is normally built on top of an old nest, or attached to a building. Incubation is about 16 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Eastern Phoebe: Eastern Wood-Pewee has darker underparts, yellow lower mandible, two white wing-bars, different voice, and does not pump tail.

Flight Pattern

Weak buoyant fluttering flight with shallow wing beats.
Eastern Phoebe Worn Summer Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Eastern Phoebe: Breeds north of the Mason-Dixon Line in North America; spends winters as far north as the Ohio River.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
Population
MigrationMost migrate
Weight0.7 Ounces