Breeding Location:
Open landscapes
Breeding Type:
Monogamous, Solitary nester
Breeding Population:
Fairly common, Stable
Egg Color:
White, sometimes with red or brown spots
Number of Eggs:
3 - 7
Incubation Days:
12 - 14
Egg Incubator:
Female
Nest Material:
Grasses and mud., Lined with grass, weeds, moss, spider webs, and wool.
Migration:
Migratory
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Overview
Say's Phoebe: Medium-sized, active flycatcher with gray-brown upperparts and head, paler gray throat and upper breast, and pale rufous belly and undertail coverts. The wings and tail are dark gray. Feeds primarily on insects. Weak fluttering flight with shallow wing beats. Hawks from perch, hovers.
Range and Habitat
Say's Phoebe: Breeds from central Alaska, Yukon, and northern Mackenzie south through western mountains to Mexico. Spends winters in California and western Oregon. Frequents open areas such as prairies, tundra, farmlands, and playing fields.
Breeding and Nesting
Say's Phoebe: Three to seven white eggs, sometimes brown or red spotted, are laid in a nest made of grass and wool and built in a sheltered, elevated, dry site on a ledge, rock wall, or building. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female. Usually raises one to two, but sometimes three broods per year.
Foraging and Feeding
Say's Phoebe: Feeds on insects but also eats berries. Flies from perch to catch insects; also hovers above grass when hunting.
Readily Eats
Meal Worms
Vocalization
Say's Phoebe: Song is a series of relatively low, whistled phrases "pidiweew" and "pidireep", usually alternated in steady tempo. Call is a low, plaintive whistled "pdeer" or "tueeee."
Similar Species
Say's Phoebe: Eastern Phoebe has darker head and whiter underparts.
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