PHOEBE. 



456. Sayornis phoebe. 7 inches. 



A Phoebe is always associated, in my mind, with old 

 bridges and bubbling brooks. Nearly every bridge 

 which is at all adapted for the purpose has its Phoebe 

 home beneath it, to which the same pair of birds will 

 return year after year, sometimes building a new nest, 

 sometimes repairing the old. They seem to be of a 

 nervous temperament, for, as they sit upon their usual 

 lookout perch, their tails are continually twitching as 

 though in anticipation of the insects that are sure to 

 pass sooner or later. 



Note. — A jerky, emphatic "phoe-be,' with the accent 

 on the second syllable, and still further accented by 

 a vigorous flirt of the tail. 



Nest. — Of mud, grasses and moss, plastered to the 

 sides of beams or logs under bridges, culverts or barns. 

 In May or June four or five white eggs are laid (.75 x 

 .55). 



Rang-e. — N. A. east of the Rockies, north to southern 

 Canada; winters in southern U, S. and southward 



