THE PHCEBE 



Flycatclier Family — Tyrranidcs 



Length: About 7 inches; a little larger than the English spar- 

 row. 



Male and Female: Grayish-brown above; under parts light 

 gray with yellowish wash; breast darker than throat, 

 sides grayish-brown; head dark brown, somewhat 

 crested; bill black, slightly hooked at tip, with bris- 

 tles rt base; wings dark brown, with inconspicuous 

 whitish i&ing-bars; tail dark brown; edge of two 

 outer tail-feathers yellowish-white. 



Song: No real song. Flycatchers are songless birds. The 

 note is a hoarse Phoebe, sometimes Pe-wit-Phoebe, 

 It is usually uttered mournfully and monotonously; 

 occasionally the male gives numerous Phcebes rap- 

 idly while on the wing. 



Habitat: Near streams preferably. A favorite nesting site i* 

 underneath a bridge; eaves of barns or beams ol 

 piazzas are also used. 



Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from north-central 

 Canada south to northeastern New Mexico, central 

 Texas, northern Mississippi and highlands of 

 Georgia; winters south of latitude 37° to southern 

 Mexico. 



WHEN March has lost some of its bluster and gen- 

 tler weather prevails, there arrives from the 

 land of sunshine and teeming insect life, a small brown 

 and gray bird — the Phoebe, first of the Flycatcher family 

 to come North. Like many of the early migrants, he 

 travels without his beloved little mate, whom he seems to 



[111] 



