312 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



Genus SAYORNIS Bonaparte. 



/ 

 456. Sayornis phoehe. (Lath.). Phoebe; Pewee; Bridge 



Bird; Barn Pewee; House Pewee; Peewit. 



Plumage of adults: above olive brown, much darker on crown which is 

 fuscous or nearly black ; wing and tail fuscous; outer tail feather whitish on 

 outer vane ; wing coverts narrowly edged with yellowish white ; below prim- 

 rose yellow, tinged with brownish gray on breast and sides. Immature 

 plumage : wing bands rather distinct, tipped with cinnamon rufous ; second- 

 aries and tertiaries edged with brownish white ; slightly more yellowish 

 below; otherwise similar. Wing 3.40 ; tail 3.00 ; bill from nostril 0.40. 



Geog. Dist. — Eastern North America, north to New Brunswick, Great 

 Slave Lake and Fort Resolution, west to the Plains, Indian Territory and 

 western Texas ; wintering from the South Atlantic and Gulf States to 

 eastern Mexico and Cuba. 



County Records. — Androscoggin ; common summer resident. (Johnson). 

 Aroostook; summer resident and common in southern portion of county, 

 rare in Woolastook Valley, (Knight). Cumberland; common summer resi- 

 dent, (Mead). Franklin; common summer resident, (Swain). Hancock; 

 rather common summer resident. (Knight). Kennebec; common summer 

 resident, (Gardiner Branch). Knox ; visitant, (Norton). Oxford ; breeds 

 commonly, (Nash). Penobscot; common summer resident of settled por- 

 tions, (Knight). Piscataquis; common, breeds, (Homer). Sagadahoc; 

 common summer resident, (Spinney). Somerset; common summer resident, 

 (Morrell). Waldo; summer resident, (Knight). Washington ; rare, (Board- 

 man) ; a few seen every year during spring migration, (Clark). York; not 

 common summer resident, (Adams). 



In the spring the species arrives near Bangor from April 18 

 to April 26 and remains until about September 25. It is 

 rather generally distributed throughout the settled portions of 

 the State, and though scattered in proportion to the number of 

 bridges and other suitable nesting places, may be rated as 

 common. The species utters several well known calls such as 

 "pee-wee, pewee," "phoebe phoebe," "pe-wit pewee and pe-wit." 



They seem with us to prefer the region adjacent to water 

 and usually can be found about a majority of the bridges and 

 large culverts, only a pair to a given locality. Here they may 

 be seen perched on the rail of a bridge or on some dead limb 

 or stub near the water, sailing into the air after some insect, 

 alighting, uttering their call, accompanied by a twitching of 



