I saw this bird on my walk the other day. It looked like a flycatcher, and something told me it was an Eastern Phoebe, though I wasn’t certain.
According to my Sibley guide, the Eastern Phoebe is a 7-inch bird. I compare everything to the Northern Mockingbird to judge size since I see them all the time and they’re a handy 10-inches or so, thus half the size of a mockingbird is roughly 5 inches.
As I was watching the suspected phoebe, a mocker conveniently landed a few feet away, and I could clearly see that he was about 2-3 inches longer. After studying the picture I took and comparing it to other pictures online, I’m pretty sure that this is the Eastern Phoebe, which isn’t really all that exciting since they’re pretty common birds, but it’s nice to know what I’m looking at.
While searching around, I stumbled upon these bloggers who also found themselves confronted with the Eastern Phoebe and a bit of uncertainty: Nature Tales and Camera Trails, Birding Girl, and At the Water. Their pictures helped my with my ID, which I hope is right. I also discovered SE Texas Wildlife, which didn’t have a picture of the Eastern Phoebe, but still looks like a cool blog to explore.
Much easier for me to identify is the Western Spotted Couch Phoebe, caught here in her natural habitat:
James Brush is a teacher and writer who lives in Austin, TX. He tries to get outside as much as possible.
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