It’s not uncommon for me to hear the tee-tee chirp of a black phoebe outside my window. There’s one in the neighborhood and once you know the sound, it can be picked clean out of a bird chirping crowd.
These beauties are about 6 inches in length and live all along the western coast of America, ranging from Oregon to Argentina. They don’t migrate much either. So, if you’re lucky enough to live in or visit an area where they are, you’re likely to see (and hear) them all year round!
As the name probably leads you to believe, and well, the picture along with this post…both male and female black phoebes are primarily black in color with beautiful bright white bellies and undertail.
I won’t tell a lie, I’m not a fan of insects. There, I said it. I know they’re incredibly important and all but nope, still not a fan. Andy hey, this is a reason I love black phoebes. Me and my garden are a bit more bug-proof with them around.
So, without further adieu…to the 3 reasons!
Mighty hunters
Black phoebes are majestic hunters. They belong to the flycatchers of the bird world which means, you guessed it, they catch flies. Flies, wasps, termites, spiders, and other bugs are their usual cuisine.
The one that lives in my neck of the woods likes to perch on tall sprinkler heads, but they’ll perch anywhere. Watching with their laser eyes, wagging their tails up and down until-WOOSH! They dart at lightning speed towards their prey and snatch it-often right out of the air!
Getting muddy
The very foundation of their nests are made out of mud. The female builds it with the help of other plant fibers and uses mud to glue it in a safe place. That could be a stream side boulder or a hollowed tree but they’ve also adjusted quite well to humans dwellings.
Something else that I love about them is that choosing a nesting spot is a joined effort. The male scouts out potential sites to the female and she picks the one she likes best. See, teamwork!
They’re really, really protective
Like, really, really. In the, ‘Hey, get off my lawn!’ kind of way. They’ve been known to protect their mud anchored nests from from squirrels and even coyotes!
They even defend their nests from other black phoebe pairs, keeping a distance of several hundred feet between nests.
It seems like they’re always chirping away, wether they’re marking out territory, hunting or simply chilling. I like to think it’s them just saying hi though maybe they just want me off their lawn too. I’d be happy to give it to them, after all.
So, there you have it. 3 reasons to love black phoebes (plus a few others I may have hid in there…I couldn’t help myself) Oh, and their tail wagging, did I mention the tail wagging? gah, I love the tail wagging!