Home Application Download FAQ
English
English
繁體中文
日本語
Español
Français
Deutsch
Pусский
Português
Italiano
한국어
Nederlands
العربية

Say's Phoebe

A species of Phoebes
Scientific name : Sayornis saya Genus : Phoebes

Say's Phoebe, A species of Phoebes
Botanical name: Sayornis saya
Genus: Phoebes
Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya) Photo By Becky Matsubara , used under CC-BY-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original

Description

The say's Phoebe is a bold species of bird often found nesting in homes, buildings, and other developed areas where it will continue to come back year after year. Fossil records show that these birds have been present in some areas for 400,000 years. The say's Phoebe is named after the “father of American entomology,” Thomas Say.
Size
18 - 20 cm
Life Expectancy
5 years
Nest Placement
Building
Clutch Size
3 - 6 eggs
Incubation Period
1 - 2 broods
Number of Broods
12 - 18 days
Nestling Period
13 - 21 days
Feeding Habits
Say's Phoebe captures insects like beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, flies, and bees midair or on the ground, launching from low perches in a behavior known as sallying.
Habitat
Say's Phoebe occupies a range of arid to semi-arid habitats, preferring open landscapes such as sagebrush flats, badlands, dry barren foothills, canyons, and desert fringes. They can be observed up to altitudes of approximately 9,300 feet. These birds avoid densely wooded areas and seek out dry, sparsely vegetated terrains. Although say's Phoebe can be found near water, they have a notable affinity for human structures in their environments. In winter months, their habitat extends to open, grassy fields with scattered shrubs and agricultural lands.
Nest Behavior
During nest building, say's Phoebe pairs scout sites together. The female may reuse and refurbish old nests or ones from other species, adding new lining.
Nest Characteristics
Say's Phoebe typically builds nest on protected ledges or pockets with overhead shelter on cliff faces, buildings, or bridges. The female constructs a cup-shaped nest using rocks, plant stems, sage, grasses, and spiderwebs, lined with hair, wool, feathers, or paper. Nests measure around 6 inches wide, 7 inches long, and 4 inches in diameter.
Dite type
Insectivorous

General Info

Feeding Habits

Bird Feeder Type
Platform

Sounds

Call
Recording location: Mexico
Call
Recording location: United States

Behavior

Say's Phoebe exhibit a behavior where they typically perch on low vegetation to forage, launching aerially to capture insects mid-flight. They exhibit a characteristic tail movement while perched, though less frequently than similar species. Their flight is noted for being effortlessly buoyant and well-coordinated. During breeding season, say's Phoebe exhibit early pair bonding, with unique courtship involving the male guiding the female to various nest sites, signaling with wing flutters and vocalizations. Remarkably, they often return to previous territories annually, and may reuse old nests, indicating a strong site fidelity. In the off-season, say's Phoebe live a largely solitary existence.

Species Status

Not globally threatened.
Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya) Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya) Photo By Becky Matsubara , used under CC-BY-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original

Scientific Classification

Download Picture Bird
Identify any bird by photo or sound in seconds
Cookie Management Tool
In addition to managing cookies through your browser or device, you can change your cookie settings below.
Necessary Cookies
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Analytical Cookies
Analytical cookies help us to improve our application/website by collecting and reporting information on its usage.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_ga Google Analytics These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here. 1 Year
_pta PictureThis Analytics We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_ga
Source
Google Analytics
Purpose
These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_pta
Source
PictureThis Analytics
Purpose
We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience.
Lifespan
1 Year
Marketing Cookies
Marketing cookies are used by advertising companies to serve ads that are relevant to your interests.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_fbp Facebook Pixel A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here. 1 Year
_adj Adjust This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_fbp
Source
Facebook Pixel
Purpose
A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_adj
Source
Adjust
Purpose
This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year
Download