Phoebe. Water Pewee " 



the air, snaps his bill loudly over an unsuspecting insect 

 he has been lying in wait for, and, before you breathe, 

 settles back on the branch with a spasmodic jerk of the 

 tail. 



FLORENCE A. MERRIAM. Birds Through an Opera Glass. 2 



The note is a somewhat harsh and querulous one, re- 

 sembling the word phoebe. The first syllable is smooth, 

 the second rough and broken. 



M. A. WILLCOX. The Common Land Birds of New England. 29 



In Florida the phoebe is said to light on the backs of 

 cattle, taking a ride with the laudable excuse of catching 

 flies. 



FLORENCE A. MERRIAM. Birds of Village and Field. 1 



When not domesticated, as these birds are rapidly 

 becoming, the phoebes dearly love a cool, wet woodland 

 retreat. Here they hunt and bathe; here they also build 

 in a rocky bank or ledge of rocks, or underneath a bridge, 

 but always with clever adaptation of their nest to its 

 surroundings, out of which it seems a natural growth. 

 It is one of the most finished, beautiful nests ever found. 

 A pair of phoebes become attached to a spot where they 

 have once nested; they never stray far from it, and return 

 to it regularly (they are mated for life), though they do 

 not again occupy the old nest. 



NELTJE BLANCHAN. Bird Neighbors. 23 

 ill 



