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, 
sumetimes 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 “phe-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 
Dd). 
Range.—-N. A. east of the Rockies, north to southern 
Canada; winters in southern U. S. and southward. 
