Bird of the Month: Black Phoebe
Written by Andy McCormick
Andy McCormick, Volunteer and Former Board President of Eastside Audubon
The Black Phoebe has been expanding its range northward and in recent years has been breeding in a few places in Washington west of the Cascades.
The Black Phoebe is a small, active flycatcher which is strongly associated with water sources such as a quiet stream or pond, or even a water trough. Water provides habitat where the bird forages for insects and uses mud in nest construction. It is North America’s only black and white flycatcher. Its species name nigricans is from the Latin for “shading into black” (Holloway), reflecting the coloration on the bird which shifts from its white belly to a gray back to its black head.
It is one of the flycatchers in the genus Sayornis, an eponym for Thomas Say (1787-1834). Say worked with Charles Bonaparte (1803-1857) who created the genus in Say’s honor. The second part of the genus name, ornis, is from the Greek for bird.
Throughout the day, around the nest, and while foraging from a perch, the Black Phoebe regularly makes a loud tseew call, which is often combined with a downward tail flick. At times it will also spread its tail. These tail behaviors may have utility in startling insects to move and become more accessible for capture.
HIGH NEST SITE FIDELITY
Black Phoebes demonstrate strong breeding site fidelity, and a pair will return annually to the home nest to breed again, and often attempt two broods each breeding period. The nest is constructed by the female which combines mud with grass and weeds and plasters it in a protected area such as on a cliff face, a bridge support or culvert, or under the eave of a building. Usually, 3-6 white eggs are deposited and incubated for a little over two weeks. Young may leave the nest in 2-3 weeks (Kaufman).
The diet of the Black Phoebe consists almost entirely of insects including bees, wasps, flies, damselflies, and dragonflies. The bird is described as a “sit and wait” predator perching within six feet of the ground and snatching prey in mid-air sorties or gleaning them from the surface of ponds (Wolf). The undigestible parts of insects are ejected as small pellets.
Black Phoebe
Scientific Name: Sayornis nigricans
Length: 7”
Wingspan: 11”
Weight: 0.67oz (19g)
AOU Alpha Code: BLPH
STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION
Historically, the Black Phoebe has been a bird of the Southwestern United States with a range that extends to South America. However, in recent years it has rapidly expanded its range northward into western Oregon and Washington and is now seen in southern British Columbia (Aversa, et al). It is a resident bird which migrates only a short distance in some parts of Western Washington and has nested as far north as Skagit County.
The Black Phoebe population is stable and may be growing in some areas secondary to the bird’s use of human-made structures which provide additional nesting sites. There are no management programs in place for this species.
EXPANSION INTO WASHINGTON
The first record of Black Phoebe in Washington accepted by the Washington Bird Records Committee (WBRC, www.wos.org) was at Hanford on 4-Sep-1962. Over the next 40 years, Black Phoebe was considered rare in Washington and records of 2-4 observations per year were accepted by the committee. Most of these observations were in Southwest Washington. However, as the bird’s northward expansion continued reports became so frequent that the Black Phoebe was removed from the WBRC review list in 2011. The species is now reported throughout the Puget Sound area as far north as Vancouver, BC and breeding has been confirmed in many locations. There are few reports of Black Phoebe from the Olympic Peninsula or from east of the Cascades.
Photo Credit: Mick Thompson. References available upon request from amccormick@eastsideaudubon.org