Eastern phoebe, Sayornis phoebe (protonym, Muscicapa [] Phoebe), Latham, 1790, also known as the phoebe, as the bridge pewee or as the water pewee, photographed at White Hall, Virginia (USA).
Image: Pete Myers, 2 March 2009 (with permission) [velociraptorize].
Nikon D300 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 Nikkor ISO 320 Focal length 400mm 1/500 at f / 6.3
Question: This seemingly unremarkable mystery bird is a remarkable "first" in North America. Can you tell me about that "first"? This mystery bird will be challenging for you to identify from this image, but I think most of you can identify this bird's taxonomic family at least. Can you identify this bird and tell me how to distinguish it from its family members?
Response: This is an eastern phoebe, Sayornis phoebe, the most common tyrant flycatcher (family; Tyrannidae) species that you'll see in the eastern United States. This migratory bird, which winters in Central America, also pops up in western Europe from time to time, giving the local birders a thrill.
Eastern phoebes are consistently amongst the first migratory birds to arrive in the northeastern USA -- I've seen them in Central Park in New York City in late March, which is at least three weeks before the first wave of neotropical migrants begins to arrive. They also are amongst the last migrants to leave in autumn.
Another "first"; the eastern phoebe was the first North American bird to be banded for study. John James Audubon banded an individual with a silvered thread in 1804, so he could document this bird's return the following spring.
Eastern phoebes are fairly tolerant of humans and their structures, hence their alternative common names. This trait has probably contributed to the increase in this species' population and range since historic times. However, these birds are not very tolerant of each other, and tend to spend most of their time alone, even when breeding.
To give you an idea of their foraging behaviour, here's a brief video of an eastern phoebe hawking insects (filmed at North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, Durham, NC. Uploaded 9 May 2008):
Visit grcapro's YouTube channel [video link].
This video gives you a good idea of the eastern phoebe's song, although the singer in this video is a mere speck on a bridge railing (filmed at Ocmulgee National Monument, Macon, Georgia on 2 April 2010):
Visit Lillybeth58's YouTube channel [video link].
You are invited to review all of the daily mystery birds by going to their dedicated graphic index page.
If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and (mostly) appreciative international audience here at The Guardian, feel free to contact me to learn more.
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Comments
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5 January 2012 1:25AM
Sorry, Grrl, I still don't think that this is a Phoebe -- I've checked photos both online and in my own collection, and even juveniles young enough to show a yellow gape shouldn't look like this. I'll admit that the date is weird, but it wouldn't be the first time something showed up early. (or maybe it's something really good, like a Cuban Pewee?)
5 January 2012 2:02AM
One of my favorites - many of them winter here in Florida. The strange thing is that they only "sing" the phee-bee song when they first arrive. After that, they have a sweet call but nothing to help with ID.
5 January 2012 4:06PM
i think you'll have to argue this ID with pete myers since he photographed the bird. in this case, i am going with his diagnosis since i am not certain what species this is. i am sure we'll all learn a lot from reading your back-and-forth, should you choose to engage each other.
as for me, i am sticking with my original ID: one of two possible species (excluding cuban pewees, yikes! hadn't even thought of that!). and the lighting makes this ID even more challenging (impossible?).