Say's Phoebe
Encyclopedia
The Say's Phoebe is a passerine
bird
in the tyrant flycatcher
family.
Adults have brownish-gray upperparts with an orange-brown belly and light gray on the throat and breast. Juveniles have cinnamon wing bars; adults have no wing bars.
Their breeding habitat
is dry open or semi-open areas across western North America
from Alaska
to Mexico
, including towns. They make an open cup nest in a natural or man-made cavity or on a ledge. They lay 3–6 eggs per clutch and incubate them for 12–14 days. The female Say's phoebe incubates the eggs exclusively but both parents may feed the nestlings. The nestlings fledge 14–17 days after hatching. The phoebes may reuse their nest for another clutch in the same season or pick a new nesting site.
These birds migrate
to southern Mexico
. They are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range.
They wait on a perch on a shrub or rock and fly out to catch insect
s in flight, also foraging by hovering over fields. They sometimes eat certain berries
.
The song is a quick pit-see-ar. The call is a whistled pee-ee. These two vocalizations are often heard in incessant alternation.
The numbers of this bird are declining, probably due to loss of habitat in its winter range.
This bird was named for Thomas Say
, the American
naturalist.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the tyrant flycatcher
Tyrant flycatcher
The tyrant flycatchers are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They are considered the largest family of birds on Earth, with more than 400 species. They are the most diverse avian family in every country in the Americas, except for the United States and...
family.
Adults have brownish-gray upperparts with an orange-brown belly and light gray on the throat and breast. Juveniles have cinnamon wing bars; adults have no wing bars.
Their breeding habitat
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
is dry open or semi-open areas across western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, including towns. They make an open cup nest in a natural or man-made cavity or on a ledge. They lay 3–6 eggs per clutch and incubate them for 12–14 days. The female Say's phoebe incubates the eggs exclusively but both parents may feed the nestlings. The nestlings fledge 14–17 days after hatching. The phoebes may reuse their nest for another clutch in the same season or pick a new nesting site.
These birds migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
to southern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. They are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range.
They wait on a perch on a shrub or rock and fly out to catch insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s in flight, also foraging by hovering over fields. They sometimes eat certain berries
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
.
The song is a quick pit-see-ar. The call is a whistled pee-ee. These two vocalizations are often heard in incessant alternation.
The numbers of this bird are declining, probably due to loss of habitat in its winter range.
This bird was named for Thomas Say
Thomas Say
Thomas Say was an American naturalist, entomologist, malacologist, herpetologist and carcinologist. A taxonomist, he is often considered to be the father of descriptive entomology in the United States. He described more than 1,000 new species of beetles and over 400 species of insects of other...
, the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
naturalist.
External links
- Say's Phoebe Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Say's Phoebe Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Say's Phoebe Sayornis saya - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter