Say’s Phoebe Gallery
Sayornis saya
eBird offers this description of the Say’s Phoebe: Medium-sized flycatcher, smaller than a robin. Found in various open habitats. Plumage separates this bird from other flycatchers; head and upperparts are gray, but lower belly is warm salmon-color and tail is black. All About Birds adds this additional descriptive information about the Say’s Phoebe: Like other phoebes, the Say’s Phoebe is seemingly undaunted by people and often nests on buildings. These open-country birds have cinnamon-washed underparts and a rather gentle expression. They sally from low perches to snatch insects in midair or pounce on them on the ground. Say’s Phoebes often pump their tails while perched on a wire, fence post, or low bush. They breed farther north than any other flycatcher and are seemingly limited only by the lack of nest sites.
I watched my first Say’s Phoebe at Gage Gardens in Marathon, Texas, on the afternoon of Sunday, August 30, 2020. I first say the Say’s Phoebe perched on what looked like a century plant, where it sat for a very long time. After a while it flew to a nearby fence where is continued perching for a while. I was delighted to get a good look at this beautiful bird!
“Cool Facts” about the Say’s Phoebe from All About Birds…
- Charles Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon, named the Say’s Phoebe after American naturalist Thomas Say, the first scientist to encounter the bird, at a site near Cañon City, Colorado, in 1819. During the same expedition, Say also collected 10 additional bird species. Despite finding several new bird species in his career, Say is perhaps better known as the “father of American entomology.”
- Say’s Phoebes have been in the U.S. for a long time. Paleontologists discovered Say’s Phoebe fossils in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas dating back to about 400,000 years ago (the late Pleistocene).
- The Say’s Phoebe breeds farther north than any other flycatcher and is seemingly limited only by the lack of nest sites. Its breeding range extends from central Mexico all the way to the arctic tundra. It may be following the Alaska pipeline even farther north, nesting on the pipeline itself.
- When a Say’s Phoebe finds a good nesting site, it often uses the nest year after year. In central Kansas a Say’s Phoebe reused the same nest 5 years in a row.
- Say’s Phoebes will nest just about anywhere: in mailboxes, on machinery, and even in old nests built by other species. Researchers reported them using nests built by Black and Eastern phoebes, Cliff, Bank, and Barn swallows, and American Robins.