I got this by e-mail from SC of CA, wife of a past president of Pasadena Audobon Society:
Hi Father Z:
I’m a daily reader of your blog. I’ve really been enjoying your bird feeder visitors. However, I tend to disagree that Mr. Say’s Phoebee is a Phoebee. You were right before. After consulting hubby, who is an avid birder, he confirmed that your cute little guest is an Eastern Peewee. Say’s Phoebee’s have a more upright posture and a buff underbelly–no yellow.
Good birding!
Allow me to give you the bird:
The problem remains that this bird with absolutely no hesitation bobs his tail. That suggests Phoebe, not Pewee.
The controversy rages!
Loading ...
Hard to say, Father. In the right light, you can’t see much yellow in the belly. And laying a trap for a closer look would be… well, unseemly.
Once again we consult the literature at
http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camenaref/jonston/vol3/jpg/s126.html
After careful comparison of images I conclude that this is a new species hitherto unseen by the scientific community. It should be named “passerculus Zulsdorfiensis”.
Could it be Phoewee?
To my untutored eye, Bird No 2 looks different to Birds Nos 1 and 3.
Could you perhaps have both in your garden?
Or alternatively, have you recently painted a fence yellow?
I like birds..lightly roasted with a nice pinot.
Corboy: I agree, though I am not sure about the Pinot. Also, I tend to like the larger birds, which give you more meat in proportion to the effort of preparation.
Pinot Noir or Pinot Grigio (Gris)?
Here is another clue.
Eastern Pewees have a distinctive yellow mandible, while Eastern Phoebes have an all-dark bill.
Add that to the other two distinctive identifying characteristics already mentioned, i.e., tail-bobbing
(Phoebe) and garden, not forest, location (Phoebe) and I believe this is a Phoebe.
Listen for the song. A pewee says “pee-ah-wee”, slightly slurred. A phoebe says “fee-be”
Good luck with the id.
Have you tried to identify by sound? The hoarse “phoebe” call would be a dead giveaway.