Eastern Phoebe
Learn to identify the Eastern Phoebe by ear. Master the "fee-bee, fee-bee" phrase and tell it apart from similar species.
What the Eastern Phoebe sounds like
The bird switches between husky fee-bee and fee-brit-it phrases, repeating both forms from its perch. On the fee-bee form the first note sits slightly higher and the second is raspier.
How to tell it apart
Lessons featuring the Eastern Phoebe
Ready to test your ear? Practice identifying the Eastern Phoebe's sounds in this interactive in-app lesson.
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Where you'll hear it
Migratory; breeds across eastern and central North America and winters in southeastern US and Mexico.
Open woodlands, farmlands, and suburban areas, typically near water. Often seen around bridges, barns, and other human structures.
One of the earliest flycatchers back in spring, it nests through summer and heads south in fall. Wintering birds remain across the southern United States and Mexico, taking insects when they can and adding fruit in cooler weather.
How to recognize it by sight
Small flycatcher (~7 inches) with plain gray-brown upperparts and an off-white belly. A slight olive wash may be present on the sides, and some individuals show a pale yellow wash on the belly in fresh fall plumage.
Similar species
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Another small flycatcher; the wood-pewee is slightly larger and has two prominent pale wingbars (which the Phoebe lacks). The Eastern Wood-Pewee's song is a whistled 'pee-a-wee' which is very different from the Phoebe's 'fee-bee'. Wood-pewees tend to perch higher in the canopy and do not wag their tails. Visually, the lack of tail-wagging and presence of wingbars help distinguish a pewee from a Phoebe.
Least Flycatcher (Empidonax)
Least Flycatchers are smaller and more compact, with a bold white eyering and two wingbars. Their sharp chebec is a song, not a call, and they flick their wings rather than habitually pumping the tail like an Eastern Phoebe.