Is That a Phoebe or Pewee Calling?

Eastern Phoebes and Wood-Pewees are vocal birds. Here's how to tell them apart by their songs.

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Transcript:

This is BirdNote.

This brisk whistle belongs to a bird named for its song 鈥 the Eastern Phoebe. It repeats its name each time it sings, so it鈥檚 a pretty straightforward voice to identify and remember.

The Eastern Phoebe is one of the most familiar flycatchers east of the Rockies. They often nest very close to people, under the eaves, in barns, or under bridges. They鈥檙e one of the very earliest migrants to return north in spring. And they sing鈥 lot.聽聽

But there鈥檚 another flycatcher that whistles its name over and over:聽

It鈥檚 the Eastern Wood-Pewee 鈥 or just 鈥減ewee鈥 for short 鈥 common in leafy forests east of the Rockies. This one鈥檚 more often heard than seen, and it wouldn鈥檛 be unusual to hear a pewee and a phoebe at the same spot.聽

With careful listening, though, you can tell them apart by their different singing styles. The phoebe鈥檚 a little more energetic. The pewee鈥檚 a bit more plaintive.

You can share this show with a friend when you come to birdnote.org.聽I鈥檓 Michael Stein.聽

Support for BirdNote comes from the Port Aransas Tourism Bureau. Home to hundreds of species of birds and the Whooping Crane Festival in February. More at VisitPortAransas.com.

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颁谤别诲颈迟蝉:听

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Eastern Phoebe [61890] recorded by William W H Gunn; Eastern Wood-Pewee [191122] recorded by W L Hershberger.

BirdNote's theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.

Producer: John Kessler

Executive Producer: Dominic Black

漏 2016 Tune In to Nature.org聽聽聽 Oct 2018 聽 Narrator: Michael Stein