Photo: Garry Budyk
 Breeding evidence |
 Relative abundance |
 Probability of observation |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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1.4 (0.296 - 2.58)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
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Characteristics and Range Repeated, raspy phœ-be calls with varying inflections (not to be confused with the Black-capped Chickadee's whistled fee-bee spring song) help identify this plain flycatcher. Visual confirmation is based largely on the absence of notable field marks. Like many other flycatchers, the Eastern Phœbe is dark greyish-brown above and pale below, but it lacks an eye-ring and has mere hints of wingbars and an indistinct dark 'waistcoat' (juveniles are more strongly marked), and has a habit of pumping its tail. While it feeds mainly by flycatching sallies, a taste for terrestrial invertebrates, small fruits and other vegetable matter enables the Eastern Phœbe to survive a much earlier spring arrival than most flycatchers, giving it time to raise two broods in Manitoba.
The breeding range covers much of the eastern U.S.A., excluding Florida and part of the southern coastal plain, and extending northward well into eastern Canada. A northwestward band across the Prairie Provinces reaches southeastern Yukon and northeastern British Columbia. The winter range overlaps southern parts of the breeding range from Texas to Chesapeake Bay, and extends south to Florida, the Gulf coast, and much of eastern and central Mexico (Weeks 2011).
Distribution, Abundance, and Habitat Atlas records are concentrated mostly in the southern quarter of Manitoba, with scattered observations northward to approximately 55°N (including a prominent cluster near The Pas) and a single extralimital sighting in the extreme northwest. Jehl (2004) denoted previous occurrence at Churchill as casual. The breeding range limit is apparently not quite so far north as usually depicted (e.g., Weeks 2011, The Birds of Manitoba).Detection rates in squares with ≥3 hours of effort were highest in the Boreal Hardwood Transition (80% of surveyed squares), followed by the Prairie Potholes (62%) and Boreal Taiga Plains (47%), and much lower in the Boreal Softwood Shield (11%). Limited zones of elevated abundance and probability of observation are centred near the southern edge of the Boreal Taiga Plains. Illustrating its fairly widespread occurrence at low density, the Eastern Phœbe ranked fourth among all flycatchers for the number of squares in which it was found (930), but seventh in point-count detections (512). Breeding habitat is often located along rivers and lakeshores, though nesting also occurs at human habitation or on rock faces some distance from water bodies. Natural sites for the characteristic mossy nest are under rock overhangs along river channels and at sheltered indentations in vertical rock faces (including blasted surfaces). Various structures with sheltered horizontal surfaces are frequently used, such as the undersides of bridges, outbuildings (especially at park facilities) and carports, and sometimes odd locations such as upturned canœs. The ease of nest finding in such settings greatly facilitated obtaining breeding confirmation.
Trends, Conservation, and Recommendations Analysis of BBS data shows mostly stable or slightly increasing population trends, but with substantial decreases from central western Manitoba across Saskatchewan and Alberta. Acceptance of buildings and other structures for nesting sites, though discouraged by some home-owners, has clearly benefited the Eastern Phœbe (Weeks 2011). While concern for the species is generally low, one simple conservation measure is to provide nesting ledges when small bridges are replaced by large-diameter tubular culverts (Weeks 2011).
Recommended citation: Taylor, P. 2018. Eastern Phoebe in Artuso, C., A. R. Couturier, K. D. De Smet, R. F. Koes, D. Lepage, J. McCracken, R. D. Mooi, and P. Taylor (eds.). The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Manitoba, 2010-2014. Bird Studies Canada. Winnipeg, Manitoba http://www.birdatlas.mb.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=EAPH&lang=en [11 Oct 2024]
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