Editing Say's phoebe

{{short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
| image = Sayornis saya GNP 01.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2019 |title=''Sayornis saya'' |volume=2019 |page=e.T22699889A137979584 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22699889A137979584.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Sayornis
| species = saya
| authority = ([[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]], 1825)
| range_map = Sayornis saya map.svg
| range_map_caption =
{{leftlegend|#FF7F2A|Breeding}}
{{leftlegend|#FFDD55|Migration}}
{{leftlegend|#7137C8|Year-round}}
{{leftlegend|#5F8DD3|Nonbreeding}}
}}

'''Say's phoebe''' ('''''Sayornis saya''''') is a [[passerine]] bird in the [[tyrant flycatcher]] family, [[Tyrannidae]]. A common bird across western [[North America]], it prefers dry, desolate areas. It was named for [[Thomas Say]], an American naturalist.

==Taxonomy==
Say's phoebe was [[species description|formally described]] in 1825 by the French naturalist [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte]] from a specimen collected near [[Pueblo, Colorado]]. He coined the [[binomial name]] ''Muscicapa saya'' where the specific epithet was chosen to honour the American naturalist [[Thomas Say]].<ref name=":2">{{cite book | last=Bonaparte | first=Charles Lucien | author-link=Charles Lucien Bonaparte | year=1825 | title=American Ornithology; or, The Natural History of Birds Inhabiting the United States, Not Given By Wilson | location=Philadelphia | publisher=Carey, Lea & Carey | volume=1 | page=20, Plate 2 fig. 3 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/58156722 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | editor-last=Traylor | editor-first=Melvin A. Jr | author-link=Melvin Alvah Traylor Jr. | year=1979 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=8 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology  | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=148 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14500925 }}</ref> The species is now placed in the [[genus]] ''[[Sayornis]]'' that was introduced by Bonaparte in 1854.<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Bonaparte | first=Charles Lucien | author-link=Charles Lucien Bonaparte | year=1854 | journal=Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences | title=Notes sur les collections rapportées en 1853, par M. A. Delattre, de son voyage en Californie et dans le Nicaragua | volume=38 | pages=1–11, 53–67, 258–266, 378–389, 533–541, 650–665 [657] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/1215722 }}<!--Of the 9 parts, Vol 38 has parts 4-9 --></ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | year=2020 | title=Tyrant flycatchers | work=IOC World Bird List Version 10.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/flycatchers/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=9 October 2020 }}</ref>

Two [[subspecies]] are recognised:<ref name=ioc/>
* ''S. s. saya'' ([[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]], 1825) – Alaska, west Canada, west USA and south Mexico
* ''S. s. quiescens'' [[Joseph Grinnell|Grinnell]], 1926 – [[Baja California]] (northwest Mexico)

==Description==
[[File:Say'sPhoebe-30APR2017.jpg|alt=Say's Phoebe|left|thumb|Say's phoebe in [[Cochise County, Arizona]]]]
Say's phoebe is a barrel-chested bird with a squared-off head. It is gray-brown above with a black tail and [[buffy (color)|buffy]] cinnamon below, becoming more orange around the vent. The tail is long and the primaries end just past the rump on resting birds. The wings seem pale in flight and resemble a female [[mountain bluebird]]. The juvenile is similar to adult, but has buffy orange to whitish wingbars and a yellow [[gape]]. The adult bird is {{convert|7.5|in|cm|abbr=on}} long, has a wingspan of {{convert|13|in|cm|abbr=on}} and weighs {{convert|0.75|oz|g|abbr=on}}

==Distribution and habitat==
They are found year-round from western [[Colorado]], southwest to southern [[California]], east to the western panhandle of [[Texas]] and south through western [[Mexico]]. They breed from [[Alaska]] south through western and south central [[Canada]], south through [[North Dakota]], the midwest and to [[New Mexico]] and westward.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cade|first1=Tom J.|last2=White|first2=Clayton M.|date=1973|title=Breeding of Say's Phoebe in Arctic Alaska |journal=The Condor|volume=75|issue=3|pages=360–361|doi=10.2307/1366189|jstor=1366189 |issn=0010-5422}}</ref> They winter in the [[desert]] southwest to southern [[Texas]] and south through Mexico to northern [[Central America]]. During migration these birds can be found thousands of miles out of range. There are regular fall reports in [[New England]], U.S and Nova Scotia, Canada.

These birds prefer dry, desolate, arid landscapes. They can be found on farmland, savanna and open woodlands, usually near water. They tend to be early migrants to the western U.S.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Smith|first=W. John|date=1970|title=Displays and message assortment in ''Sayornis'' species | journal=Behaviour|volume=37|issue=1–2|pages=85–112|doi=10.1163/156853970x00259 }}</ref>

== Behaviour and ecology ==
[[File:Sayornis saya2.JPG|left|thumb|Adult Say's phoebe hunting from a perch]]
Say's phoebe is similar to the [[eastern phoebe]]. It [[Hawking (birds)|sallies]] from a perch to catch insects in mid-air. It also hovers [[American kestrel]]-like and dips its tail while perched.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|date=2012-05-01|title=''Sayornis saya'': BirdLife International|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2012-1.rlts.t22699889a39094800.en|access-date=2021-11-13|website=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species|doi=10.2305/iucn.uk.2012-1.rlts.t22699889a39094800.en }}</ref> Say's phoebe also likes to feed just above the water's surface. They eat insects almost exclusively, but have been known to eat berries.

Say's phoebe nest in the typical phoebe fashion. They attach their nests under bridges, [[canyon]] walls, wells and abandoned mine shafts. The nest is made by the female and is cup-shaped. It is made of grass, [[forbs]], moss and plant fibers lined with hair and other fine materials. She lays three to seven, but usually four or five, white, mostly unmarked, eggs. Some have red spots. The eggs are roughly {{convert|0.8|in|mm|abbr=on}}.<ref name=":1" />

===Breeding===
Say's phoebes have been found to breed anytime between late March and late August. They have a broad range of breeding elevation, including anywhere from 300 to 1800 meters. Their preferred breeding ground is open, arid country.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SAY'S PHOEBE {{!}} The Texas Breeding Bird Atlas|url=https://txtbba.tamu.edu/species-accounts/says-phoebe/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=txtbba.tamu.edu}}</ref> Their breeding grounds are very wide—spanning throughout the western continental North America as far north as arctic Alaska to as far south as central Mexico.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Schukman|first1=John M.|title=Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya)|date=1998|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2173/tbna.374.p|work=Birds of North America (print)|publisher=The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington D.C|access-date=2021-11-13|last2=Wolf|first2=Blair O.|doi=10.2173/tbna.374.p |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Food and feeding===
The diet is primarily insects.<ref name=":1" /> These include grasshoppers, flies, crickets, beetles and bees.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Say's Phoebe Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Says_Phoebe/lifehistory|access-date=2021-11-12|website=www.allaboutbirds.org|language=en}}</ref> However, it is disputed whether honey bees are actually suitable aspects of their diets. Their techniques for catching prey including taking it midair or pouncing on the insects while they are on the ground.<ref name=":0">{{Cite thesis|title=The Reproductive biology and natural history of the black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans Swainson) in central California|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.31979/etd.45tx-qb6h|publisher=San Jose State University Library|first=Blair O. |last=Wolf|date=1991 |doi=10.31979/etd.45tx-qb6h }}</ref> They have also been observed to have consumed small fish. The diets of adult Say's phoebes varies from that of nestlings, with the latter consuming a higher share of soft foods.<ref name=":0" />

===Communication===
Like other ''[[Phoebe (bird)|Sayornis]]'' species, Say's phoebe is known to use "song-like" displays as its main form of communication.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Smith|first=W. John|date=1970|title=Song-Like Displays in Sayornis Species|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853970x00240|journal=Behaviour|volume=37|issue=1–2|pages=64–84|doi=10.1163/156853970x00240|issn=0005-7959|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Their singing is characterized as having a very loud pitch to begin and then slowly leveling off into a more steady pitch.<ref name=":4" /> This initial peak pitch is a distinctive trait to Say's phoebe compared to its other ''Sayornis'' counterparts. They generally use this form of communication to countersing other birds, make its presence known when patrolling its territory, and in during the early stages of mating season.<ref name=":3" /> Almost all males do the singing; however, a select few females engage in singing as well.<ref name=":3" /> Often times, Say's phoebe will sing while hovering over an open field.<ref name=":3" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sayornis saya|<br>Sayornis saya<br>(Say's phoebe)}}
{{Wikispecies|Sayornis saya}}
* [https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Says_Phoebe/ Say's phoebe species account] - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
* [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i4570id.html Say's phoebe - ''Sayornis saya''] - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
* {{InternetBirdCollection|says-phoebe-sayornis-saya|Say's phoebe}}
* {{VIREO|Say's+Phoebe|Say's phoebe}}
* {{IUCN_Map|22699889/187298299|Sayornis saya}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q204055}}

[[Category:Sayornis|Say's phoebe]]
[[Category:Native birds of Alaska]]
[[Category:Native birds of Western Canada]]
[[Category:Native birds of the Canadian Prairies]]
[[Category:Native birds of the Western United States]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Southwestern United States]]
[[Category:Native birds of the Plains-Midwest (United States)]]
[[Category:Birds of the Great Basin]]
[[Category:Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1825|Say's phoebe]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte]]
<!--named for-->
[[Category:Least concern biota of the United States]]