Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)

Eastern Phoebe [lateral view of adult]. Photograph Credit: Edmund K. LeGrand; Rock Island State Park, Warren County, Tennessee; 7 March 2009.

Abundance: Fairly Common to occasionally Common during spring, summer, and fall; Uncommon to Very Uncommon during winter; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the Regional breeding population is probably stable (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; specimen (8&10 June 1938; Monticello, Wayne County, Kentucky; W. M. Perrygo; Wetmore 1940); photograph (above).

Regional High Count and FBC/FBB High Count: 127 (19 September 2009; Putnam County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 124 (8 May 2009; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.); CBC/CBB High Count: 39 (18 December 2012; White County, Tennessee [CBC]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).  Breeding habitat usually reflects the hydrophilic and troglophilic habits of this flycatcher, nests often being placed near water sources at cave entrances and at other cave-like sites, such as under rock faces and cliffs that have overhanging components. Has adapted well to the homogenic transformation of the landscape, often placing nests on the interior roof beams of open-air barns and out-buildings, as well as under bridges and under the eaves of porches—all nesting sites that mimic the natural cave-like nesting sites selected by phoebes.

Habitat: Forages in a wide range of habitats where suitable perches are available that allow phoebes to scan for flying insects and other food items.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 50 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 138 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, leading to YardWatch frequency classifications of Fairly Common and Common, respectively; the phoebe appears, not unexpectedly, to have been a bit more likely to be encountered at YardWatch sites than around the Region generally.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: A familiar bird of yards and gardens in suburbia; also haunts stream-sides both large and small, especially those with overhanging cliff-faces or plentiful bridges and culverts. Easily recognized aurally by its distinctive name-saying song; visually distinctive because of its tail-bobbing habit.

    A large portion of the phoebe breeding population vacates the Region during winter, apparently moving southward, but little evidence exists as to the proportion of the population that vacates the Region or as to the sites where vacating birds spend the winter months.  Regarding the former issue, data from the Winter Roadside Survey (WRS) and Summer Roadside Survey (SRS) in Putnam County, Tennessee, are somewhat illuminating: the average number of phoebes counted on 500 stops of 4 minutes each during January of five years (1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011) was 10.6, whereas the average number of phoebes counted on 500 stops of 4 minutes each during June of four years (1991, 1996, 2001, and 2006) was 60.5, leading to an average proportion of 60.5 to 10.6, or 5.7 individuals present during summer to every 1 present during winter and indicating that on average about 15%–20% of the breeding population overwinters in the Region.  However, the range (36–79) in the number of breeding individuals registered during the SRS was moderate, while the range (4–23) in the number of wintering individuals registered during the WRS was fairly large.  Thus, there is probably a moderately large range in the percentage of overwintering phoebes from winter to winter, with availability of food resources and severity of weather conditions probably playing roles in determining what percentage of the breeding population remains to overwinter during each winter season.

    Data about phoebes from the Regional CBCs (LINK to Regional CBC data) also reflect considerable variability and may also be correlated with severity of weather conditions and availability of food resources during winter.

    During winter phoebes may undergo short-distance movement in response to brief periods of inclement weather, either moving down-slope to sites of lower elevation (and warmer conditions) or moving toward riparian sites with flowing water during periods of intense cold (these options are probably correlated). This phenomenon was apparent during the winter of 2010–2011 when many (20) phoebes were counted, mainly at sites on the Highland Rim part of Putnam County, Tennessee, during the CBC in mid-December 2010; however, during January 2011, when the WRS was conducted in that county, only two phoebes were recorded on the Highland Rim part of the county where 250 stops were surveyed; by contrast, the number of phoebes counted during the WRS in the lower elevation Central Basin part of Putnam County was higher during January 2011 than during any previous January when the WRS was conducted; consequently, it appears probable that the weather conditions of late December 2010 and much of January 2011 caused phoebes to move from the Highland Rim to the lower elevations of the  Central Basin.

    The overwintering population is probably comprised mainly of adults, but no evidence currently supports this assumption.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited