Phoebe (bird) explained

The genus Sayornis is a small group of medium-sized insect-eating birds, known as phoebes, in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae.

Taxonomy

The genus Sayornis that was introduced by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854 with black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) as the type species.^{[1] [2]} The genus name is constructed from the specific part of Bonaparte's name for Say's phoebe, Muscicapa saya, and Ancient Greek ornis meaning "bird".^[3] The English Phoebe is a name for the Roman moon-goddess Diana.

Description and ecology

They are native to North and South America.

They prefer semi-open or open areas near water. These birds wait on a perch and then catch insects, usually in pairs. Their nest is an open cup sometimes placed on man-made structures.^[4] They aren't fond of dense forests, and prefer low perches.^{[5] [6]}

They often slowly lower and raise their tails while perched.^{[7] [8] [9] [10]}

Species

The genus contains three species:^[11]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Sayornis phoebe	Eastern phoebe	Eastern North America
	Sayornis nigricans	Black phoebe	United States, Mexico and Central America, and parts of South America
	Sayornis saya	Say's phoebe	United States and Canada

Notes and References

1. Bonaparte . Charles Lucien . Charles Lucien Bonaparte . 1854 . Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences . Notes sur les collections rapportées en 1853, par M. A. Delattre, de son voyage en Californie et dans le Nicaragua . 38 . 1–11, 53–67, 258–266, 378–389, 533–541, 650–665 [657] .
2. Book: Traylor . Melvin A. Jr . Melvin Alvah Traylor Jr. . 1979 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 8 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 147 .
3. Book: Jobling, James A . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . limited . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 349.
4. Web site: Black Phoebe - eBird .
5. Web site: Eastern Phoebe - eBird .
6. Web site: Say's Phoebe - eBird .
7. Web site: Species Spotlight - Eastern Phoebe (U.S. National Park Service) . 2023-08-15 . www.nps.gov . en.
8. Web site: Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) :: Xeno-canto .
9. Web site: Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) :: Xeno-canto .
10. Web site: Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya) :: Xeno-canto .
11. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . 2019 . Tyrant flycatchers . World Bird List Version 9.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 29 June 2019 .