Eastern Phoebe

It is migratory, wintering in the southernmost USA 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.

The Eastern Phoebe is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

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 USA. It is migratory, wintering in the southernmost USA 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. More

Eastern Phoebe nests near people on buildings and bridges. It can be recognized by its emphatic "phee-bee" call and its habit of constantly wagging it tail. More

Eastern Phoebe is credited to Thomas Say (1787-1834), who collected this species along the Arkansas River near Canon City, Colorado during the 1819-1820 expedition to establish military posts along the upper Missouri River (Mearns and Mearns 1992). The Eastern Phoebe holds the distinction of being the subject of the first bird banding experiment in North America. In the early 1800 More

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 and voice. 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. More

The Eastern Phoebe has a large range, estimated globally at 6,200,000 square kilometers. It is native to the nations of North America as well as Belize, Bahamas, Cuba, and Turks and Caicos Islands and prefers forest and shrubland ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated to be 16,000,000 individuals and it does not appear to meet population decline criteria that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. The current evaluation status of the Eastern Phoebe is Least Concern. More

Eastern Phoebe, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Birds of America, 1917 The free woodworking plans of the Phoebe platform have approximately a 6" by 6" base, approximately a 6" ceiling, an open front and partially open sides. Mount platform on the side of a garage, shed or porch under open shelter or an eave over looking both open spaces and foliage in your back yard from seven to twelve feet high. More

Bent Life History for the Eastern Phoebe - the common name and sub-species reflect the nomenclature in use at the time the description was written. More

Eastern Phoebe feeds primarily on insects, such as flying insects, wasps, ants, flies, and wild bees. They eat also invertebrates such as grasshoppers, spiders, hair worms from the water, and small fishes and crustaceans in shallow water. It may eat some fruit and few seeds, when insects are less abundant. PROTECTION / THREATS / STATUS: Eastern Phoebe’s nest is strongly parasitized by brown-headed cowbird. Female cowbird removes Phoebe’s eggs, and its egg is rarely rejected by the Eastern Phoebe female. More

Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe Order PASSERIFORMES – Family TYRANNIDAE Issue No. 094 Authors: Weeks Jr., Harmon P. * Articles * Multimedia * References Courtesy Preview This Introductory article that you are viewing is a courtesy preview of the full life history account of this species. The remaining articles (Distribution, Habitat, Behavior, etc. More

an Eastern phoebe in the Sepulveda Basin.UP WITH THE BIRDS AVIAN COUNT DRAWS EAGER FLOCK by Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)Twelve species present in the unburned site were absent in the burned, including: Kentucky Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), American Red start (Setophaga ruticulla),Breeding bird communities in burned and unburned sites in a mature ... by LeBlanc, David C. More

eastern phoebe in your neighborhood now. These flycatchers spend the winter in the southeastern United States and return to our area to breed. It's good to have them back. click image to enlarge The eastern phoebe likes to have several perches within its nesting territory. They find beetles delicious – also wasps, ants, grasshoppers and flies – and make doting parents. Shutterstock. More

Thanks for the first image of the Eastern Phoebe at the nest Jennifer. * http://warbler.ornith.cornell.edu/nest-cam-highlights/2009/TX-greenville-eaph/Pheobe031809.jpgPhoebe on Nest Wed Mar 18 00:00:00 EDT 2009- Thanks Debbie for sending us this great picture of the Eastern Phoebe on the nest.View nest building video highlight. Jen plans to move the camera closer once nest building is finished. More

The Eastern Phoebe nest is made of mud mixed with green moss and some leaves, lined with fine grass stems and hair. The female builds the nest in 3-6 days, sometimes longer. * http://warbler.ornith.cornell.edu/nest-cam-highlights/2008/MN-Warner/warner2008May16-16.54.27.jpgIncubating Fri May 16 00:00:00 EDT 2008- The female sleeps in the nest cup each night and spends over half of the daylight hours incubating. More

The Eastern Phoebe is the only flycatcher that winters in southeastern U.S. More

The Eastern Phoebe's call is a sharp chip, and the song, from which it gets its name, is fee-bee. Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org Eastern Flycatcher - Photo, Video and/or Article contributions are welcome! Please click here for info The Avianweb strives to maintain accurate and up-to-date information; however, mistakes do happen. More

Eastern Phoebes are among the hardiest of flycatchers. Wintering population densities are highest where minimum temperatures are greater than 40 degrees, but some linger through mild winters as far north as southern New England and southern Illinois. Population fluctuations have been observed and attributed to winter mortality in severe winters and to cowbird parasitism. Eastern Phoebe Range Map Eastern Phoebes are medium-sized flycatchers. They are brownish gray above, darkest on the wings, tail, and head, and have dark bills. More

An Eastern Phoebe's nest is large, and made of mud and lined with grasses, hair, fibers, feathers and moss. It may take 3 weeks to complete a nest. Phoebe nest. Photo by Chris Asmann. The phoebe nest in the same location the previous year, above a door. See nestcup photo below. The eggs are pure white, although the last 1 or 2 may have a few dots. nestcup. Photo by Chris Asmann. Phoebe nestlings. More

The eastern phoebe is usually one of the last migrants to leave in the fall and one of the first to return in the spring. This species is one of the most widespread and most easily recognized of all eastern flycatchers. Its breeding range covers most of the east coast as far north as Nova Scotia, and west through the Great Plains, as far northwest as the Northwest Territories. More

Photo of a male Eastern Phoebe perched on a twig.I was wandering around a nature preserve in Frederick County, Maryland one evening in late March, several years ago, noticing that the Eastern Phoebes had recently returned from their winter foray south. I was recording bird sounds, there isn’t much song in late March. I found a male Eastern Phoebe chirping excitedly in a lower section of the preserve. I began to record all of the chirps and notes that he was uttering. More

Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) This little Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) perched sweetly for me on a beautiful, sunny, New Year’s Day. I spent the entire day exploring new trails at a nearby nature preserve, and it could not have been a more invigorating experience. I’ve been wanting to compare notes and illustrations amongst my small collection of antique and old bird guides, and this little Phoebe is the perfect subject. © 1909 Chas. More

Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) - The webcam This webcam was placed inside a garden shed where a pair of Eastern Phoebe had placed their nest just above the door. Video, audio, and power cables from the camera are strung into the house where they connected to a MPEG4 video server which was connected by way of a cable router to the Internet. More

The Eastern Phoebe is one of the hardiest of the flycatchers, and because of its tolerance for colder temperatures, it is one of the earliest migrants in the spring. Its habit of wagging its tail slowly from side to side and up and down helps to identify this bird. This species is the first to have been "banded", when John James Audubon attached a silver thread to the legs of some young phoebes in the early 1800's. More

Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebeThe Eastern Phoebe is one of the earliest migrants in much of the eastern United States. Unlike most of the Empidonax flycatchers, they are generally easy to identify, due to a well-known fee-bee song and their habit of repeatedly wagging its tail up and down. They are often quite tame, and have greatly benefited by the presence of humans since they will often use buildings and bridges for nesting. More

small flock of Eastern Phoebes, hawking for insects above the pond. I saw as many as seven in this little area, and could have spent a long time sitting there, watching and taking photos, had there not been other priorities. I managed to take a few photos, most of them grainy, and unspectacular. This is my favourite of the bunch. More