SONGLESS' BIRDS OF ORCHARD AND WOODLAND. 233 



Phoebe. Phoebe Bird. Pewee. Bridge Pewee. 



Sayornis phcebe. 



Length. — About seven inches. 



Adult Male. — Above, dull olive-brown ; head dark, almost blackish ; sides, and 



often the breast, shaded with same ; tail notched ; bill entirely dark. 

 Nest.. — Built of mud, mossed over ; grass or feather lined ; placed on some beam 



of building or bridge, under the edge of a high hank or rock, or in a cave. 

 Eggs. — "White. 

 Season. — April to October. 



The common Phoebe is known throughout the State. It 

 is as familiar and homelike as the Swallows, and deserves 

 all the regard accorded it as a friend to man. This bird feeds 

 almost entirely upon insects ; hence its pref- 

 erence for the vicinity of water and its ap- 

 parent fondness for streams, for in sue 

 locations its source of food supply : 

 augmented by the many insects that, 

 like mosquitoes, pass the earlier part 

 of their lives in water, and emerge 

 later to fly about within range of 

 the Phoebe's quick and accurate 

 eye. Perched on 

 a dead twig, a 

 mullein stalk, a 

 post, or some 

 similar vantage 

 point, Phcebe 

 scans the sur- 

 rounding space with eager eye, marking each insect that 

 comes within her field of vision ; and when her eye rests on 

 one she covets, be it beetle, moth, or fly, she quickly leaves 

 her perch and immolates the victim. 



This Flycatcher, unlike the Wood Pewee, hawks about 

 habitually near the ground, though it often takes a higher 

 perch and flight. While sitting it often jets the tail, throw- 

 ing it up even higher than it is represented in the cut ; but 

 usually the tail is held low. The Phcebe utters a loud chip, 

 and it has a variety of softer tones ; but the note most com- 

 monly heard may be given phee'be, phee'brizzy , — the first 



Fig. 93. — Phoebe, one-half natural size. 



