Despite its unobtrusive behavior and drab coloration, the Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) is a familiar bird to those who live within its range. This small passerine bird is native to North America. It is known for its adaptability, often nesting on human structures such as bridges and buildings. This behavior has earned it the common names of “bridge pewee” and “barn pewee” in 19th-century North America. Indeed, this flycatcher's use of bridges has evidently been a key element in the spread of its breeding range into the Great Plains and the southeastern United States.
Identification and Appearance
The Eastern Phoebe appears remarkably big-headed, especially if it puffs up the small crest. Its plumage is gray-brown above, with 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. The Eastern Phoebe also has the habit of slowly wagging their tails. It pumps its tail up and down like other phoebes when perching on a branch. 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.
Habitat and Distribution
The Eastern Phoebe breeds in eastern North America, excluding the southeastern coastal United States. Eastern phoebes inhabit woodlands, farmland, and suburbs, often near water. They usually avoid open areas and choose spots beneath trees, brushy areas, or overhangs. They are 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.
Nesting and Breeding Habits
Nesting activity may start as early as the first days of April. The nest is an open cup with a mud base and lined with moss and grass, built in a crevice in a rock or man-made site. Original sites were probably always on vertical streambanks or small rock outcrops in the woods, with a niche providing support below and some shelter above. Now often builds nest under bridges, in barns, in culverts, or in other artificial sites. Same site may be used repeatedly, and may build on top of old nest. The nest (built by female) is an open cup with a solid base of mud, built up with moss, leaves, and grass, lined with fine grass and animal hair.
A monogamous and typically double-brooded species, individuals usually keep the same mate for both broods. Adults typically raise 2 broods per year. The female lays 2 to 6 eggs, white, sometimes with a few dots of reddish brown. Incubation is by female only, about 16 days. Both parents feed the young and usually raise two broods per year. Young usually leave nest about 16 days after hatching.
Read also: Dietary Habits of Whip-poor-wills
Foraging Behavior and Diet
The Eastern Phoebe is insectivorous, and often perches conspicuously when seeking food items. Forages by watching from a perch and flying out to catch insects. Most are caught in mid-air, some are taken from foliage while hovering briefly. Also drops to the ground to pick up insects there. Perches in shrubs or trees to eat berries.
Insects make up a great majority of its summer diet; included are many small wasps, bees, beetles, flies, true bugs, and grasshoppers. It also eats some spiders, ticks, and millipedes. Small fruits and berries are eaten often during the cooler months, and are probably an important part of the winter diet. The diet of most flycatchers, as their name would implay, is nearly 100 percent flying insects, but phoebes can also live on small fruit and berries. Their ability to eat berries allows them to arrive on the breeding grounds early, long before warm weather has produced the needed insects.
Social Behavior and Territoriality
Eastern phoebes are generally solitary but during the breeding season, they can sometimes spend time in pairs. They are diurnal being most active in the morning. These birds usually forage by perching conspicuously on a branch often pumping their tail up and down while looking for flying insects. When the prey is spotted phoebes chase it down and then return to the same perch. They may also pick insects or berries from the foliage. Eastern phoebes are highly territorial and males often use vocalizations to claim the territory. Male defends nesting territory by singing, especially at dawn. Occasionally one male may have two mates, and may help to feed the young in two nests at once.
Conservation Status
Eastern Phoebe populations have increased slightly between 1966 and 2019 according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 35 million and rates them 8 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, indicating a species of low conservation concern. Historically, phoebes increased as people spread across the landscape and built structures the birds could use as nest sites.
Interesting Facts
- Eastern phoebes were the first birds to be banded in North America.
- The oldest Eastern phoebe was at least 10 years and 4 months old.
- 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' which means 'bird'.
- The unusual spelling of the Eastern Phoebe's name harkens back to Greek mythology: Phoebe was the daughter of “Earth” (Gaea) and “Sky” (Uranus).
- In 1803, Audubon carried out the first bird-banding experiment in America at Mill Grove, when he attached silver thread to the legs of Eastern Phoebe nestlings before they migrated. The next spring, he recaptured two of the marked phoebes, which had returned to his property.
- The Eastern Phoebe's call is a sharp chip, and its song, from which it gets its name, is a raspy, persistent fee-bee.
Providing Habitat for Eastern Phoebes
Phoebes like to build their nests near lakes and ponds. If you are fortunate enough to live near such an area, you may want to put up a small shelf under your porch or roof overhang. It would be pretty cool to have a phoebe returning to your yard each spring, year after year. Since the Eastern Phoebe is a species of flycatcher, and mostly eats insects, it will not visit backyard feeders filled with seeds. They favor flowers and vines like the Virginia creeper and wild grape, and shrubs like the American elderberry. Adding a perch of some kind near the garden can also help, as phoebes like to fly from perch to perch in search of insects.
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