THE FLYCATCHERS 143 



Male and Female — ^Dusky olive-brown above; darkest on 

 head. Wings and tail dusky, the outer edges of some 

 tail feathers whitish. Dingy yellowish white under- 

 neath. 



Range — North America, from Newfoimdland to the South 

 Atlantic states and westward to the Rockies. Winters 

 south of the Carolinas, and into Mexico, Central Amer- 

 ica, and the West Indies. 



Migrations — March. October. Common summer resi- 

 dent. 



The first of its family to come north, as well as the last 

 to go, the phoebe appears toward the end of March to snap 

 up the first insects warmed into life by the spring sunshine. 

 Grackles in the evergreens, red-wings in the swampy 

 meadows, bluebirds in the orchard may assure us that sum- 

 mer is on the way; but the homely, confiding phoebe, who 

 comes close about our houses and barns, brings the good 

 news home to us every hour. 



This is still another bird to introduce himseU by name. 



Pewit — phoebe, pewit — phoebe, he calls continually. As 

 he perches on the peak of a building or other point of 

 vantage, notice how vigorously he wags his tail when 

 he calls, and turns his head this way and that, to keep 

 an eye in all directions lest a bite should fly by him 

 unawares. 



Presently a mate comes from somewhere south of the 

 Carolinas where she has passed the winter; for phoebes are 

 more hardy than the rest of the family and all do not 

 travel so far as the tropics. With unfailing accuracy she 

 finds the region where she built her nest the previous season 

 or where she herself was hatched. This instinct of re- 



