WESTERN BIRDS Piio^^'e 



petites, twenty-two grasshoppers being eaten by the 

 three in less than half an hour. 



Both the eastern and western birds, like all their 

 tribe, are useful wherever found. 



GENUS SAYORNIS: SAY'S PHOEBE. 



Say's Phoebe: Sayornis sdyus. 

 FAMILY— FLYCATCHERS. 



Say's Phoebe is a western bird which is seen singly, 

 or in pairs, in open or rocky country, preferring un- 

 wooded regions, brushy and weedy places away from the 

 haunts of man. 



They breed from Alaska south and east to North 

 Dakota, western Iowa and Kansas; wintering from cen- 

 tral California, southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, 

 and central Texas, south. 



The general color of Say's Phoebe is brownish-gray, 

 the breast being lighter, the belly cinnamon-buff, under 

 wing coverts huffish, and tail black. The call is a plain- 

 tive pue-er, or phee-eur, which it gives with twitch of 

 tail. Though not so friendly as its cousin, the Black 

 Phoebe of the west, its actions proclaim it unmistakably 

 a flycatcher, and although not frequently seen in thickly 

 settled places, it is not particularly shy. In most parts 

 of southern California it is a winter visitor, only, and 

 may be seen flying about among the empty cottages at 

 the sea-shore, uttering its weird call; in the open val- 

 leys, or in the foothills. 



They are fond of nesting about cliffs or in caves, 

 where they place the nest on some projecting ledge. 

 Coues calls them the Say's Pewit Flycatcher and says 

 they use mud in the construction of the nest, while Daw- 

 son describes a nest he found in Washington as made 



79 



