<< Back 5/29/02 The Naturalist's Corner By Don Hendershot I noticed what looked like a half dozen eastern phoebes diving, fluttering and chasing insects at the wooded edge of my yard last Friday morning. I went outside to check and there were only two phoebes, but they were working overtime. The two adults were hustling to try and keep the mouths of their three fledglings filled. The fledglings, perched high in their mud and moss abode, were pretty well feathered and appeared to be watching mom and dad with interest. They will be leaving the nest soon but it will still be up to the parents to keep them fed until their insect catching skills are perfected. Phoebes are quite tolerant of people. Their ready acceptance of man-made structures such as buildings and bridges has probably greatly facilitated the expansion of their range. Phoebes nest east of the Rockies from Northern Canada south to Florida and Texas. They winter from Virginia to Florida and southward well into Mexico. To date there are only two records of eastern phoebes outside of North America and both are from Great Britain. The eastern phoebe is a medium sized flycatcher (bluebird sized) with a muted, olive-green to brownish gray back. The head is darker. The underside is white in summer but has a yellow wash in fall and winter. A diagnostic characteristic of the phoebe is its tail-wag. The phoebe, when perched, constantly pumps or wags its tail. The song may not rate up there with the flute-like melody of the wood thrush or the liquid warble of the rose-breasted grosbeak, but that doesn’t dampen the phoebe’s zeal, as anyone who has a pair nearby knows. The primary song is basically the phoebe shouting its name over and over again: “Phoe-beee! Phoe-beee!” often in a burry an emphatic tone. And it’s not uncommon for them to start this chant in the pre-dawn hours. Before human structures dominated the landscape, phoebes nested primarily on ledges in rocky ravines. They sometimes nest amid upturned roots of felled trees. Phoebes always seek shelter above the nest. This is why man-made structures are so appealing. The female builds the nest made of mud, moss and perhaps a few leaves. Nests are lined with fine grass and hair. Egg laying generally begins a week or two after the nest is completed. The phoebe will lay from two to six eggs; five are common. Incubation is generally 15 to 17 days. Both parents feed the chicks. The chicks are ready to leave the nest in 16 days. Phoebes pair quickly upon reaching their nesting grounds. They are early nesters and the same pair raises two broods a year from the same nest. Phoebes often return to the same site, even the same nest, year after year. Phoebes are frequently parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds. The cowbird will often remove the phoebe’s eggs when laying her own. Cowbird eggs are seldom rejected by phoebes, and cowbird chicks have about the same success rate as young phoebes (60-70 percent.) The phoebe’s northern migration follows the emergence of insects in the spring and it retreats in the fall as insect populations decline due to cold weather. This hearty flycatcher has been known to overwinter as far north as southern Illinois. While primarily insectivorous, the phoebe, unlike most flycatchers, will supplement its winter diet with fleshy berries. This little bird’s affinity for human structures and its tolerance of people led to it becoming America’s first banded bird. John James Audubon attached a silver thread to the legs of several nestlings in 1840. The next year the banded birds returned to the same site, supporting Audubon’s theory that birds return each year to the same nesting sites. (Don Hendershot can be reached at don@smokymountainnews.com)