Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)

This little Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) perched sweetly for me on a beautiful, sunny, New Year’s Day. I spent the entire day exploring new trails at a nearby nature preserve, and it could not have been a more invigorating experience.  I’ve been wanting to compare notes and illustrations amongst my small collection of antique and old bird guides, and this little Phoebe is the perfect subject.

© 1909 Chas. K Reed

This is my oldest bird guide, and I have referred to it in several posts. I just love the chance to learn how natural history was observed and recorded, back when there was more “nature” in the history. The personal quality of the species account is unique, so I’ll type a portion of it here in case the scanned image of the page is too hard to read:

A Phoebe is always associated, in my mind, with old bridges and bubbling brooks. Nearly every bridge which is at all adapted for the purpose has its Phoebe home beneath it, to which the same pair of birds will return year after year, sometimes building a new nest, sometimes repairing the old. They seem to be of a nervous temperament, for as they sit upon their usual lookout perch, their tails are continually twitching as though in anticipation of the insects that are sure to pass sooner or later.

I don’t remember hearing the Phoebe calling, but it looks like I captured this one mid-chirp. I am looking at the pictures of these two Phoebes, and then at the painting in the old guide…and then I noticed that there is no physical description of the Phoebe in the old guide. Interesting. Both of these Phoebes have faint streaking on their breast, but the painting does not appear to indicate streaking. Hmm. Lets try another old guide:

© 1954, Whitman Publishing Company

This guide describes the “underside” as “light gray tinged with yellow.” The yellow tinge is evident in the photos I took, and I suppose that what I am describing as streaks could be described as light gray. I noticed that this guide does not list the scientific name. Both of these old guides say that the Phoebe nests beneath bridges and in barns. Surely, Phoebes nest somewhere besides these man-made structures – now I’m curious!

© 1956, Golden Press, Inc.

This guide mentions the more familiar common name, “Eastern Phoebe,” as opposed to just “Phoebe,” as we have seen in the older guides. The guide does not list the scientific name, barely attempts to describe the bird’s appearance, and illustrates a light-colored beak instead of the dark beak this bird actually has. However, this guide is the first to offer a range map. I sound like a critic of this guide, but I don’t feel critical about it at all. I found it in a used book store, and some of the pages have notes from the previous owner. Someone used this book to note several birds on their life list. This book was was important to someone…and now it is important to me.

© 1985, M.Lambert and A.Pearson; 1999 Edition

This book was given to me by my brother-in-law. It belonged to his father who has passed away. My brother-in-law told me that his dad “got really into birds” in the several years before he died. I agreed to accept the book as a trustee, and to take good care of it until the day that he might want it back. Because we birders understand the thrill of spotting a bird, identifying it (or at least trying to), and flipping through the pages of our favorite guides – I know every birder reading this will understand what a special gift this book is.

I couldn’t very well put all of this time into comparing species accounts of the Eastern Phoebe without a comparison to James Audubon’s, “Birds of America.” His illustrations have been described as full of drama and even exaggeration. In his depiction of the Eastern Phoebe, he certainly employs a bit of exaggeration with respect to the Phoebe’s whisker-feathers (that’s the scientific term-ha!), and the angle of the Phoebe’s feathers on the top of her head. As for drama – I didn’t pick up on any in this particular plate, but I did note the unusual choice of a cotton bush as the perch. With today’s genetically engineered cotton plants and supplemental pesticides, I’ll wager that there aren’t too many insects in cotton fields to offer us such a picturesque view today. Even so, the move toward organic foods, coffees, and even cotton production may serve as a boon to birds and other wildlife that feed on those “pesky” insects.

© 1937, The Macmillan Company; 1946 Edition

I hope you’ve enjoyed this comparison as much as I have. If you ever happen to see an Eastern Phoebe nest in, on, or under something that is NOT man-made, snap a picture if you can – I would love to see it. My modern guide, “Birds of Texas”¹ says,

Once limited to nesting on natural cliffs and fallen riparian trees, this adaptive flycatcher now nests on buildings and bridges, sometimes reusing the same nest site for many years.

Oh, here we go…now I’m gonna have to find an Eastern Phoebe nest on a log!

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