Eastern Phoebe
Sayornis
phoebe
Description
7" (18 cm). Dull olive green without
an eye ring or wing bars. Wags its tail.
Voice
Clear phoe-be, repeated many times; the
second syllable is alternately higher or lower than the first. Call
note a distinctive, short chip.
Habitat
Open woodlands near streams; cliffs,
bridges, and buildings with ledges.
Nesting
4 or 5 white eggs in a mud-and-grass nest
lined with moss and hair and attached to a ledge of a building,
bridge, cliff, or quarry, or among roots of a fallen tree.
Range
Breeds in Canada and United States east of
Rockies, south to northern edge of Gulf states. Winters from
Virginia, Gulf Coast, and Florida southward.
Discussion
The Eastern Phoebe arrives early in
spring and departs late in fall, sometimes even staying through the
winter in the northern states. In the absence of insects, its winter
food is berries. Extraordinarily tame at the nest, the Eastern
Phoebe was probably the first bird ever banded: Audubon marked one
with a silver wire on the leg in 1840 and recorded its return the
following year.
