Say's Phoebe
Sayornis saya · Tyrant Flycatchers
Banding codeSAPH
Keys to identifying it
1Size & shape
About 7 in long.
2Color pattern
- Gray-brown back
- Cinnamon-peach belly
- Black tail it often dips and fans
3Habitat & season
Open dry country, barns, ranches
In northern Utah: summer.
Seen most often in March, May and June.
Share of the region’s research-grade iNaturalist bird observations each month, scaled to this bird’s peak. Highlighted bars are its peak months.
4Voice
A soft, plaintive, down-slurred whistle.
“pee-urr”
iNat 359092979 by Indio Brown · Vernal, UT 84078, USA · CC BY
Know it
- One of the earliest spring migrants to return to the West.
- Nests on ledges of barns, bridges and buildings.
- Named for Thomas Say, an early American naturalist.
- Dips and fans its tail while perched.
Often confused with
Western Kingbird
European Starling
American Robin- Ash-throated Flycatcher
- Abert's Towhee
From iNaturalist identification data for northern Utah.
From Wikipedia
Say's phoebe 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.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0