PHCEBE. 



pleasing song, which I have heard only in the very early 

 morning." But my own experience is contrary to that. 

 I have never heard such a song, but rather have noticed 

 that the birds were particularly aggressive and saucy in 

 the morning, as though they had waked up in a bad 

 humor and wanted to rout everyone else out. The notes 

 about six A.M. may be rightly interpreted thus: Wake- 

 up, wake-tip, lazy, cur, cur-r-r-r, cur-r-r-r! 



The Kingbird catches his food on the wing. Watch 

 him carefully as he sits on his commanding perch and 

 you will see he takes short excursions in mid-air after 

 some insect which has ventured too near. Notice him 

 again if a Hawk should pass a hundred feet overhead, 

 and you will see him dart upward after the enemy, dash 

 recklessly at him with threatening bill, and in other 

 ways make the big bird's life burdensome as he flies for 

 a distance of half a mile more or less. 



Phoebe Phoebe is one of. those peaceful, confid- 



ing characters, which appropriates one 

 L. 6.90 inches corner of the roof of the wash-shed or the 

 April ist side porch without so much as saying " by 



your leave." The consequences are not such as a 

 good housekeeper would approve; for Phoebe transports 

 a considerable amount of mud from the borders of 

 the neighboring stream with which to build her nest, 

 and then after it is built she fails to keep it clean; 

 it usually swarms with innumerable parasites. Both 

 male and female birds are marked alike. Upper parts 

 sooty brown with a greenish cast; crown dark or sepia 

 brown; wings and tail also distinctly darker; outer half 

 of outer tail feather dull white; under parts dull white 

 with a yellowish tone; bill black. Nest, mostly a com- 

 position of mosses and mud, lined with grass and long 

 hairs, bulky, and lodged at some roof or bridge (under- 

 neath) corner on a rafter. Egg white, sometimes with 

 a few cinnamon brown specks. The bird is common 

 throughout eastern North America, from Newfoundland 

 southward. 



Phoebe sits on the piazza rail or the rustic gate and con- 

 tentedly sings his monotonous refrain, Phoebe ve-blicbt! 



37 



