Say's Phoebes
Author: Bruce Neville

Description:
Say's Phoebe is a medium-sized flycatcher (6.25 inches long), which is smaller than the flycatcher the American Robin, but larger than the flycatcher the House Sparrow. Their heads, wings, and tails are dark gray. Their backs are browner. Their breasts are grayish, and their underparts are a warm cinnamon color. Their bills are slender, black, and hooked at the tip. Males and females look alike, but young birds are browner on top and have faint brown bars on their wings.

Geographic Range:
Say's Phoebe breed throughout the western United States and Canada as far north as Alaska and southward into Mexico. Northern populations migrate as far south as southern Mexico for the winter. The species breeds throughout New Mexico. They are present year-round in southern New Mexico, but generally leave the northern part of the state in the winter.

Habitat:
Say's Phoebes can generally be found in open habitats, like grasslands, pastures, canyons, and sagebrush, and they generally avoid riparian habitats (areas near waterways). In New Mexico, they are often found in sagebrush habitats or piņon-juniper habitat up to an elevation of about 7546 meters. They often perch on bushes and wires.

Food Web:
Say's Phoebes feed on insects, which they catch by flying out from a perch. Say's Phoebes will eat many kinds of insects, but they prefer bees and wasps. They also rarely eat fruits and berries. Say's Phoebes rarely drink water, because insects (which contain more water as oppoesed to grains) provide enough water.

Nestlings may be preyed upon by snakes, Merlins, Clark's Nutcrackers, and domestic cats.

Reproduction and Development:
Say's Phoebes are apparently monogamous , but whether they remain paired from year to year is not known. Say's Phoebes build a cup nest of twigs, lined with grasses, fur, moss, and feathers. The nest is built on a small ledge on the side of a wall, which may be the eave of a house, under bridges, or in caves or tunnels. They generally lay 4 to 5 unmarked or red-spotted white eggs that hatch in 12 to14 days. The young are born blind and naked, but develop quickly and leave the nest in about two weeks. Incubation (the care of the egg) is done by the female only, but both parents take care of the young. Say's Phoebes may raise up to three broods (groups of young) in a single season. The same nest is used for multiple young and may be used for many years in a row. Banded ( birds that have been caught and studied) individuals have been known to live 3 to 5 years.

Behavior:
Say's Phoebes often perch in the open within 6 feet from the ground, where they watch for insects that are caught in flight. They may also hover low over grasses or feed on the ground, but they make short flights after prey , rather than walking or hopping. They are fairly tolerant of humans and are often found in pastures and may nest in barns. All three species of phoebe wag their tails while sitting.

The call of Say's Phoebe is a sad, thin whistle. Males and females also make soft twittering calls during courtship.

Ecosystem roles:
Say's Phoebes are predators of insects, so they have a large impact on the insects that live around them.

Conservation:
New Mexico has some of the densest populations of Say's Phoebes in the United States, and populations appear stable.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Verterbrata
Class: Aves, Birds
Order: Passerines, Perching Birds
Family: Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers
Genus: Sayornis, Phoebes
Species: Sayornis saya, Say's Phoebe, Mosquero llanero

References:
Ehrlich, Paul R.; David S. Dobkin; Darryl Wheye. 1988. The Birder's Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. New York: Simon & Schuster, 785 p.

Kaufman, Kenn. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 675 p.

National Geographic Society. 2002. Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 480 p.

Sibley, David Allen. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. New York: Knopf, 544 p.

Sibley, David Allen. 2001. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. New York: Knopf, 588 p.

Related Terms: say's flycatcher, sayornis saya, mosquero llanero