274 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



fully making up in sincerity what it lacks of music. Still it must be reluctantly 

 admitted that later, when more graceful and gifted songsters are with us, the 

 plain Phoebe does appear a trifle unsophisticated and its notes may grow monot- 

 onous. Nevertheless, their jerky character seems to be held in high opinion by 

 their author, and is admirably seconded by its tail." 1 



In well-settled sections it loves to frequent outhouses, barns, etc., in close 

 proximity to human habitations situated near springs, etc. ; here it becomes very 

 gentle, tame, and confiding when not molested. I have frequently seen one 

 alight within a few feet of my head and fly back and forth from its perch after 

 passing insects, as undisturbed as if I had not been there. In mountain regions 

 and thinly populated tracts it is often found about rocky cliffs, along water 

 courses, and almost invariably near the point where a bridge spans a stream. 

 The Phcebe is the earliest of our Flycatchers to breed, nidification beginning 

 sometimes in the first week in April, but ordinarily not much before May 1, and 

 in the northern parts of its range rarely before June. While generally of an 

 amiable disposition toward other birds, often nesting in close proximity to the 

 Barn Swallow, Robin, and Chimney Swift, it will not allow any of its own kind 

 to occupy a site close to its own, fighting them persistently until driven off, and 

 should one of the earlier arrivals presume to appropriate its old nest, war is at 

 once declared. Such a case is recorded in the "Scientific American" (April 

 22, 1882, p. 245), by Mr. E. H. Davis, of Avon, New York, who writes as 

 follows: "I have noticed communications in late issues of your journal upon 

 the subject of two and three storied birds' nests. Permit me to relate the 

 following, which I will personally vouch for. Some years ago a Phoebe Bird 

 had built her nest on a small projection under a piazza of nry father's house, and 

 occupied the place for several successive years unmolested. One spring a 

 Robin took possession of it before the arrival of the rightful owner, and would 

 not give it up. The quarrel between the birds was noted by the members of 

 the family, but nothing more was thought about it until fall, when the peculiar 

 shape of the nest attracted attention. Upon examination it proA^ed to be a 

 double nest, one built upon the other, and in the lower one was found the 

 vandal Robin, dead. The Phcebe Bird had built another nest, completely 

 inclosing the Robin, and reared her young upon the grave of her enemy." 



The same pair of birds, apparently, return to their old haunts from year 

 to year, and if they do not always occupy the same nesting site, they usually 

 select one near by. Occasionally they build a new nest on the top of the old 

 one, and this is sometimes done to get rid of Cowbirds' eggs that may have 

 been deposited by these intruders, but ordinarily they do not appear to object 

 much to such additions, and care for them as faithfully as if they were their 

 own. Their favorite nesting sites are under bridges and culverts, even when 

 they are barely large enough for a person to crawl through, provided a suit- 

 able place can be found on which to place the nest; next, outbuildings, such as 

 barns, sheds, etc., are frequently made use of; porches of houses, window sills, 



'The Auk, Vol. II, 1885, p. 254. 



