Sayornis
{{Short description|Genus of birds}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Phoebes
| image = Sayornis phoebe -Owen Conservation Park, Madison, Wisconsin, USA-8.jpg
| image_caption = Sayornis phoebe
| taxon = Sayornis
| authority = Bonaparte, 1854
| type_species = Sayornis nigricans{{cite web |url= https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=107 |title= Tyrannidae |author= |date= |website= aviansystematics.org |publisher= The Trust for Avian Systematics |access-date= 2023-07-16}}
| type_species_authority = Bonaparte, 1854
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
See text.
}}
The genus Sayornis is a small group of medium-sized insect-eating birds, known as phoebes, in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae.
Taxonomy
The genus Sayornis that was introduced by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854 with black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) as the type species.{{ cite journal | last=Bonaparte | first=Charles Lucien | author-link=Charles Lucien Bonaparte | year=1854 | journal=Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences | title=Notes sur les collections rapportées en 1853, par M. A. Delattre, de son voyage en Californie et dans le Nicaragua | volume=38 | pages=1–11, 53–67, 258–266, 378–389, 533–541, 650–665 [657] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/1215722 }}{{ cite book | editor-last=Traylor | editor-first=Melvin A. Jr | author-link=Melvin Alvah Traylor Jr. | year=1979 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=8 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=147 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14500924 }} The genus name is constructed from the specific part of Bonaparte's name for Say's phoebe, Muscicapa saya, and Ancient Greek ornis meaning "bird".{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/helmdictionarysc00jobl_997 | url-access= limited | publisher= Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | page = [https://archive.org/details/helmdictionarysc00jobl_997/page/n349 349]}} The English Phoebe is a name for the Roman moon-goddess Diana.{{Cite OED |Phoebe}}
Description and ecology
They are native to North and South America.
They prefer semi-open or open areas near water. These birds wait on a perch and then catch insects, usually in pairs. Their nest is an open cup sometimes placed on man-made structures.{{cite web | url=https://ebird.org/species/blkpho | title=Black Phoebe - eBird }} They aren't fond of dense forests, and prefer low perches.{{cite web | url=https://ebird.org/species/easpho/ | title=Eastern Phoebe - eBird }}{{cite web | url=https://ebird.org/species/saypho/ | title=Say's Phoebe - eBird }}
They often slowly lower and raise their tails while perched.{{Cite web |title=Species Spotlight - Eastern Phoebe (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/species-spotlight-eastern-phoebe.htm |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}{{cite web | url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Sayornis-nigricans | title=Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) :: Xeno-canto }}{{cite web | url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Sayornis-phoebe | title=Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) :: Xeno-canto }}{{cite web | url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Sayornis-saya | title=Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya) :: Xeno-canto }}
=Species=
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 120px | Sayornis phoebe | Eastern phoebe | Eastern North America |
| 120px | Sayornis nigricans | Black phoebe | United States, Mexico and Central America, and parts of South America |
| 120px | Sayornis saya | Say's phoebe | United States and Canada |
References
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