08.16.26: Phoebe in woods

‍Birds belonging to the various species in the flycatcher family are a nightmare to identify. Many of the species look so similar that it is difficult to tell an Eastern Phoebe from an Eastern Wood-Peewee or a Willow Flycatcher or a Least Flycatcher or a number of others.

‍I often have to post a new flycatcher photo to my favorite identification source— BirdForum.net— and let the experts there decide. And even then it can spark a debate.

‍It’s not easy.

‍This is a photo of an Eastern Phoebe. I think.

‍Actually, I’m pretty sure.

‍I found this bird perched on a limb above a creek deep in the forest in Sharon Woods Metro Park north of Columbus, Ohio. The bird had been under a walking bridge when I approached. I don’t know if it heard me or just decided to come out into the open, but moments before I reached the bridge the bird flew to a nearby limb and waited. It provided an excellent opportunity for a photo. 

‍An Eastern Phoebe is brownish-gray above and off white below, like many other birds in the flycatcher family, but it has a dusky wash along the sides of the breast. Its head seems rather large for the bird’s size and the head can appear flat on top. Eastern Phoebes have short, thin bills.

‍So this fits the description.

‍But it’s also similar to an online description of an Eastern Wood-Peewee: "Eastern Wood-Pewees are olive-gray birds with dark wings, and little to no yellow on the underparts. The sides of the breast are dark with an off-white throat and belly, giving a vested appearance typical of pewees. They show little or no eye ring. Adults have thin, white wing bars those of juveniles are buffy."

‍And descriptions for several other flycatchers are similar.

‍But I identified this bird as an Eastern Phoebe and most of the experts at BirdForum.net agreed when I posted it back in 2010 (although several thought it was an Eastern Wood-Peewee).