PHCEBE 89 



perching on the ridgepole with crest raised and 

 wings and tail hanging. It may also be found 

 nesting under bridges and on rocks or cliffs. 

 When seen, now and then it cries out hip', hip', 

 or with a jerk of the tail calls phce'-he, phoe'-he. 

 It sits turning its head and looking over its 

 shoulder this way aiid that till, spying an insect, 

 it suddenly darts into the air, snaps its bill con- 

 clusively, and then settles back on a perch. In 

 Florida the Phoebe is said to vary this practice 

 by lighting on the backs of cattle, taking a ride 

 with the laudable excuse of catching flies. For 

 like the Kingbird it is a Flycatcher and makes 

 its living from our insect pests. Few fish are 

 rejected that visit the Phoebe's net. Not only 

 does it help clear the air of the flies and wasps 

 that annoy cattle, but it eats May beetles and 

 click beetles, both of which injure the crops ; 

 and also helps free the trees of elm leaf-beetles, 

 and the vegetable gardens of squash beetles, bugs, 

 caterpillars, grasshoppers, and the bean and pea 

 weevils. When it is seen perched on mullein 

 stalks after its arrival in the spring, it is lying in 

 wait for the moth of the cutworm. In fact, as 

 Professor Beal says, "it is evident that a pair 

 of Phoebes must materially reduce the number of 

 insects near a garden or field, as the birds often, 

 if not always, raise two broods a year, and each 

 brood numbers from four to six young." He con- 

 cludes : "There is hardly a more useful species 



