This is one of those small, drab birds that few people know or notice. Yet, it’s a famous species with a fascinating song.
It’s an Eastern Phoebe, a sparrow-sized flycatcher that migrates here in the summer and often reuses its old nest. I was lucky to see it yesterday as it flitted onto a branch for a second or two while I was shooting Ospreys.
Phoebes are famous for the report that they were the first birds banded in the United States – and by none other than John James Audubon in Pennsylvania in 1804. He reportedly tied a silver thread to the bird’s leg so that there would be a way to tell whether it migrated back … and it did, according to Audubon!
These birds were not named Phoebes because they look like someone known by that name. They were named Phoebes because they sound like someone saying that name. They often repeat raspy “Feee-Beee … Feee Beee” calls from hidden locations. (Brooklin, Maine) See also the Image in the first Comment Space.