Say's Phoebe

Common Name: Say’s Phoebe

Scientific Name: Sayornis saya

Appearance: Measuring about 7.5 inches (19 cm), Say’s Phoebes are medium-sized flycatchers that superficially resemble a small American Robin. They have brown-gray upperparts and a darker gray head. Their long tail is brown-black; the bill, feet, and legs are completely black. The throat and chest are light gray and they have a rusty belly. Both sexes appear similar year-round.

Habitat/Where to find: Say’s Phoebes are common in dry, open areas, such as tundra, prairies, deserts, and fields; often nearby water and buildings. Say’s Phoebes breed in western North America from central Mexico to the Alaskan tundra, and into the Great Plains including parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, western Kansas, and western Texas. They winter in western North America from the Alaskan tundra to central Mexico and southern Baja California. They generally avoid the immediate coast and forested areas.

Sounds: Calls that are often-repeated include: low whistled phrases such as “pee-ee”, “phee-eur”, and “chu-weer”. They also give a call that sounds like “pit-tse-ar” during flight.

Behavior: Say’s Phoebes forage for flying insects from conspicuous, low perches on branches, boulders, wires, fences, buildings, etc. Sometimes they hover while foraging for insects -- swooping down to catch their prey in the air. When perched, they often pump their tails up and down while spreading their tail feathers.

Reproduction: Say’s Phoebes breed monogamously and nest solitarily. Nests are placed on horizontal ledges such as covered cliff faces, dirt banks, or placed on human structures such as buildings or barns. The base of their nests are constructed from rocks, wood, and grass, while the nest cup is lined with hair, human-made fibers, and feathers. The female incubates 3-7 eggs for 12-14 days and nestlings are fed by both parents. Nestlings leave nest approximately 17 days after hatching, and fledglings leave nest area 2-3 days after fledging. Say’s Phoebes often rear two broods per breeding season, and occasionally three.

Food Habits: Say’s Phoebes mostly consume flying or terrestrial insects through aerial foraging or gleaning from various surfaces. Their diet is primarily beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, wasps and bees. Sometimes they regurgitate pellets of insect exoskeletons.

Vital Statistics: Say’s Phoebe’s are capable of breeding in their first year. The oldest known Say’s Phoebe was a female known to have bred for at least 5 consecutive years near Palm Springs, California. Little information exists regarding their annual survivorship, but the primary causes of nest failure appear to be predation, poor weather, and human destruction.

Migration/Dispersal: Individuals breeding in the southwestern United States do not migrate, but birds from other populations migrate short to medium distances between breeding and winter ranges. Migrants returning from their winter ranges return anywhere from mid-March in Texas to mid-May in Alaska. Most migrants depart Alaska by mid-September and some remain as long as mid-October in parts of Texas and California. Little information exists about dispersal of young birds, but it appears that few, if any, return to the vicinity of their natal nests.