Another Black Phoebe...

This morning a new friend, Carol, came down to ‘bird my yard’. We sat and drank coffee while watching out the window…my favorite place to read. It’s not the best time of the year to bird, but we reliably get four species of hummingbird. They begin to arrive in this order: Broad-tailed hummers (they sound like crickets when they fly), and then Black-chinned hummers (the tail-pumpers). These two breed here and sometimes you see downy fledglings. A few weeks later come the Rufus Hummingbirds on their way back from way north (as far as Alaska). With them come this years’ young…they stay quite awhile, feeding on Rocky Mountain wildflowers and nectar offered in feeders. Generally, less than a week after the Rufus arrive, the Calliope hummers arrive; my favorites. They also breed up north and spend the summer/fall here growing up, tanking up and getting ready for the rest of the migration back to Mexico or Central America.

While we didn’t yet see a Calliope Hummingbird (on this 11th day of July, four days after the first Rufus)…Carol did spot a Black Phoebe! This is only the third or fourth one I’ve had visit here. Thanks Carol!

The Black Phoebe is unlike most phoebes with its highly contrasting plumage. It is a tyrant flycatcher native to western North America, ranging from southwestern Oregon and California to west Texas and northern Mexico. In South America, the Black Phoebe is a bird of the Andes mountain region, ranging from Colombia in the north, south to northern Argentina.

The Black Phoebe reaches a length of 5.75” with dark brown or black on the head, breast, back, wings, and tail, and white on the underbelly, undertail coverts and under the wings. It has no wing-bars; the dark color is unbroken other than the all white under-parts. This species spends more time along streams and ponds than the other phoebe species, and is not migratory but stays in its range year-round. Like other phoebes, it continually wags its tail when perched and sallies for food; waiting on an open perch such as a dead branch or fence post, flying out to catch an insect, and then returning to the same perch. It eats flying insects, hawking them from the air, and also skims floating insects on water like a cliff swallow. While this medium-sized flycatcher primarily feeds on insects, it sometimes catches and eats small fish. Preferred habitats include shady areas near water, streams, ponds, and lakes; occurs in city parks and open chaparral in winter. I hope to encourage them in my yard by stocking breeding fish in my new pond. Phoebes build a mud and grass nest always under something often directly over or near water and often raise two broods in a season.

I know now, that the ‘rubber-duckie’, squeeze-toy sound I hear in the mornings is probably a Black Phoebe. The ‘text’ of the call is “seek”, but I swear they sound like squeeze-toys. Its song is also described as a thin, buzzy pi-tsee, usually repeated. Call is a sharp, down-slurred chip.

[Addendum] The flycatcher is back this morning...seriously chasing another (small) bird which I didn't get a good look at. It perched twice in my yard before it flew off after the other bird. WOW...two days in a row.

The tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America, but are mainly Neotropical in distribution. They are now considered the largest family of birds on Earth, with around 400 species. In every country in the Americas, except for the United States and Canada, they are the most diverse avian family. As could be expected from a family this large, the members vary greatly both in shape, patterns and colors. They are members of suborder Tyranni (suboscines) that do not have the sophisticated vocal capabilities of the songbirds. Most, but not all, are rather plain, and many have erectile crests. As the name implies, most are insectivorous, but some will eat fruit or small frogs and fish.

Here’s a Royal Flycatcher…now this bird has a crest; wild, isn't it. The fan-shaped crest is seldom seen except during banding; it’s red in males and yellow-orange in females. This member of the Tyrannidae family is found in Mexico and much of Central America…typically, for flycatchers, it is found in subtropical or tropical, moist lowland forests.

According to Whatbird.com, a group of flycatchers has many collective nouns, including an "outfield", "swatting", "zapper", and "zipper" of flycatchers.

Photos from Wikipedia, except the top one by G. Jameson of the USGS.