THE PHOEBE. 



Oft the Phoebe's cheery notes 



Wake the laboring swain ; 



"Come, come ! " say the merry throats, 



"Morn is here again." 



Phoebe, Phoebe ! let them sing for aye, 



Calling him to labor at the break of day. 



C. C. M. 



EARLY everywhere in the 

 United States we find this 

 cheerful bird, known as 

 Pewee, Barn Pewee, 

 Bridge Pewee, or Phoebe, or Pewit 

 Flycatcher. "It is one of that charm- 

 ing coterie of the feathered tribe who 

 cheer the abode of man with their 

 presence." There are few farmyards 

 without a pair of Pewees, who do the 

 farmer much service by lessening the 

 number of flies about the barn, and by 

 calling him to his work in the morn- 

 ing by their cheery notes. 



Dr. Brewer says that this species is 

 attracted both to the vicinity of water 

 and to the neighborhood of dwellings, 

 probably for the same reason the 

 abundance of insects in either situation*. 

 They are a familiar, confiding, and 

 gentle bird, attached to localities, and 

 returning to them year after year. 

 Their nests are found in sheltered 

 situations, as under a bridge, a pro- 

 jecting rock, in the porches of houses, 

 etc. They have been known to build 

 on a small shelf in the porch of a 

 dwelling, against the wall of a railroad 

 station, within reach of the passengers, 

 and under a projecting window-sill, in 

 full view of the family, entirely 



unmoved by the presence of the latter 

 at meal time. 



Like all the flycatcher family the 

 Phoebe takes its food mostly flying. 

 Mrs. Wright says that the Pewee in 

 his primitive state haunts dim woods 

 and running water, and that when 

 domesticated he is a great bather, and 

 may be seen in the half-light dashing 

 in and out of the water as he makes 

 trips to and from the nest. After the 

 young are hatched both old and young 

 disport themselves about the water 

 until moulting time. She advises: 

 "Do not let the Phoebes build under 

 the hoods of your windows, for their 

 spongy nests harbor innumerable bird- 

 lice, and under such circumstances 

 your fly-screens will become infested 

 and the house invaded." 



In its native woods the nest is of 

 moss, mud, and grass placed on a rock, 

 near and over running water; but in 

 the vicinity of settlements and villages 

 it is built on a horizontal bridge beam, 

 or on timber supporting a porch or 

 shed. The eggs are pure white, some- 

 what spotted. The notes, to some 

 ears, are Phoebe, phoebe, pewit, phoebe! 

 to others, of somewhat duller sense of 

 hearing, perhaps, Pewee, pewee, pewee! 

 We confess to a fancy that the latter 

 is the better imitation. 



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