EASTERN PHOEBE

By Cecily Nabors

With its understated brown-and-white plumage, and no head markings or wing bars, the Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) could seem a plain and unassuming bird. Alert bright eyes and bobbing tail tell another story. Phoebes are charmers. Males and females are hard to tell apart, although males are often darker and larger.

One of our hardiest flycatchers, Eastern Phoebes usually don’t migrate too far south; sometimes they’re found in Christmas Bird Counts in Maryland. This speaks volumes about their willingness to take risks: Insects, their primary food source, are hard to come by in the Mid-Atlantic winter.

Our harbingers of spring, these small sojourners are usually back in our area in early March. Males return first and sing loudly to establish territories. Their hoarse, emphatic name-saying call (fee-bee or fee-bebee) leaves no doubt about ownership! Alert and on the watch, Phoebes often hunt from a perch, pumping their tails as if eager to pounce. They dash out to catch a flying insect and often return with their catch to the same perch or one nearby. Wasps, bees, beetles, ticks, flies, dragonflies, and grasshoppers are all on the menu, as well as berries and small fruits when insects are not plentiful.

Eastern Phoebes are fond of woodland areas near water sources. They may nest on stream banks or rock outcroppings, but they will happily use human constructions. One of the charming things about them, besides their cute tail-bobs, is that a suburban environment may provide countless good nesting places—Phoebes are our neighbors!

The birds often nest under bridges or under eaves or on structures around barns and houses. The feathered builders prefer a sheltered support with an overhead cover. Our daughter-inlaw has had Phoebes nesting under the roof of her front porch for years, using the same site repeatedly. Other friends found Phoebes bringing food to babies under their decks.

The female Phoebe builds her open-cup nest of grasses, moss, and mud while the male accompanies her, defending her and the territory. The female develops a featherless incubation patch and does most of the incubating. The pair usually has two broods a year, with four or five white eggs in each brood.

Phoebe nests are frequently targeted by Brown-headed Cowbirds, which lay their brown, speckled eggs in other birds’ nests. It’s sad to see, because Cowbird young grow fast and aggressively claim most of the food brought by the hard-working Phoebe parents. Cowbirds are a protected native species, however, and while their nest-parasitizing strategy doesn’t seem “fair,” it’s just part of the way nature varies. Plus, Phoebes do have defenses. Sometimes, if the Cowbird egg is the first one laid in a new nest, the female Phoebe will simply build another nest on top of it, neatly solving her problem.

Both parents feed the nestlings, bringing food even after the little ones fledge. Beak full of small insects will be brought to their demanding offspring. After leaving the nest, the youngsters give small, wispy calls to tell the devoted DoorDash parents where to deliver the food.

Pair-bonding is strong during the nesting season, but after that, the mates will usually go their separate ways. Studies reported by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology show that both males and females are strongly attached to a breeding site, so the two are likely to have a “same time next year” arrangement.

Their adaptability—their willingness to use human structures as substitute nest sites —has greatly benefited the Eastern Phoebe. Although bad winters may cause a drop in population, data from the Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Counts indicate that the species is doing well. They are classified as a species of least concern.

Insect-loving Phoebes don’t come to feeders. However, when you walk near a creek, survey a shelter, or scan the edges of your local woods, you may see a small, dark-headed bird with an enthusiastic habit of bobbing or wagging its tail. Congratulations! You have found an Eastern Phoebe o

Cecily Nabors is a retired software manager who has been watching and counting birds for much of her life. She publishes the GoodNatured Observations blog at cecilynabors. com.