Rare Bird Report #: 75-B-07

Idaho Bird Records Committee
Rarities Report Form

Species: Eastern Phoebe

Reporter: Cliff Weisse, 4125 Beaver Springs Rd., Island Park, ID 83429, 208-558-7789, cliffandlisa@octobersetters.com

Other Observers: Dale Miller, landmiller@peoplepc.com
Marv Lambrecht, IdLambrech@aol.com

Date of Observation: 8/24/2007

Date Report Prepared: 8/26/2007

Locality of Observation: On the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River approximately 3.75 miles upstream from the US 20 bridge near Ashton, Fremont County

Habitat: Dry sagebrush hillside with scattered Chokecherry thickets and other low brush adjacent to the river.

Conditions: Sunny with very thin clouds covering the sun for part of observation time. Distance was between 30 and 75 yards with Nikon 10 x 42 Premier binoculars. Bird was seen in direct sun as well as shade.

Duration of observation: about 5 minutes.

Did you take notes… Yes, later the same day and before looking at a field guide. This report prepared from those notes.

Did you consult a field guide or other reference work? later the same day

What guide or reference did you consult? Sibley Guide to Birds of North America

Description: Medium sized flycatcher with no other birds present for size comparison. There are numerous Yellow Warblers, Song Sparrows, and some Western Wood Pewees along that section and I am quite familiar with size as I spend a lot of time, perhaps 20 days per year, on that section of river. I judged the bird to be slightly larger than a pewee both perched and in flight. Upperparts were brownish. Cap contrasted darker brownish black but was not sharply defined. Head was rounded with no hint of “peak” typically shown by Pewees. Tail was also brown with paler outer webs to outer rectrices, not white but noticeably paler in flight. I did not notice if there was any contrast between tail and back. Wings had pale bars that did not contrast sharply with rest of wing. Throat and belly were pale/whitish but not stark, or bright, white. No eye ring visible and I looked specifically for an eye ring. Breast had dusky streaks on sides forming partial breast band that did not extend onto flanks. Breast band was broken vertically in the center of the breast.

Behavior: Sallying from atop low shrubs. When I first noticed the bird it was flying and it looked a bit larger than a Western Wood-Pewee so I watched it until it landed. When it landed atop a Mullein stalk (which it seemed to prefer, these stalks were approximately 3 feet tall in that area) it immediately wagged its tail to the side. I watched it sally numerous times and it wagged its tail sideways every time it landed. While perched for longer periods of time it would occasionally wag its tail but that behavior was exhibited more often right after landing. It once appeared to catch an insect on the ground but all other sallies were for air born insects. I did not notice what insects it was catching. It always perched within 5 or 6 feet of the ground during the entire observation time.

How and when did you positively identify the bird, and what clinched the identification for you? I immediately recognized the sideways tail wagging behavior as that of a Phoebe and suspected that this was an Eastern Phoebe as soon as I saw that behavior. I could also see the rounded head and darker cap with naked eye. Once I got binoculars on it I was able to confirm that the cap was dark and there was no eye ring. After several sallies it finally landed with breast facing me and I could see the streaks on the sides of the breast which, for me, was the last necessary field mark that I needed to be sure of the ID.

How did you eliminate similar species, and what were they? The only flycatchers that regularly wag their tails sideways are the Phoebes. Say’s Phoebe has a rufous wash on the belly and Black Phoebe is extensively black on the breast with white belly. Western and Eastern Wood-Pewees do not wag its tail in my experience and have a peaked crown, weak eye ring, more contrasting wing bars, and gray breast sides and flanks. Olive-sided Flycatcher has a peaked crown and extensively marked flanks. All Empidonax species have obvious wing bars and usually a noticeable eye ring, peaked crown, and do not have dusky sides of breast. I know of no other flycatchers that could be confused with this species.

Experience with this species: I have seen Eastern Phoebes maybe 15 times in NJ, MO, WI, and ID. I see hundreds of Western Wood-Pewees almost daily during summer and Empidonax species almost daily in summer as well (Hammond’s Flycatcher nests near my home and is observed regularly). I see Olive-sided Flycatchers annually during migration and occasionally during breeding season.

General experience birding: 14 years

Were photo(s), video, and/or audio obtained by you? NO