Black Phoebe Sayornis nigricans
STANFORD LOCATIONS: Uncommon to fairly common resident throughout campus, being somewhat more common fall through spring than during summer. Nests of mud are attached to eaves or the sides of buildings, occasionally built on ledges. The birds often appear more black than brown.

Nest Location	Nest Type	Eggs Mating System	Dev. Parental Care	Primary & 2ndary Diet	Foraging Strategy
			F I: 15-17 DAYS ALTRICIAL
WALL	F ?	4 (3-6) MONOG	F: 14-21 DAYS MF		HOVER & GLEAN

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BREEDING:	Near water in woodland, canyon, suburb, farmland with scattered trees, coastal cliff. 2 (occ 3?) broods.
DISPLAYS:	In courtship, male performs song flight of fluttering and calling, then slowly descends.
NEST:	Adherent also on or under other structures; of mud pellets, plant fibers, hair, lined with hair, rootlets, grass, bark.
EGGS:	White, mostly unmarked, some (last laid) with small red spots. 0.8" (19 mm).
DIET:	Almost exclusively insects, occ small fish. Regurgitates pellets.
CONSERVATION:	Winter resident, but wanders after breeding season. Rare cowbird host.
NOTES:	Often feeds just above water surface. Sexes maintain separate winter feeding territories. In winter, also gleans insects from ground
ESSAYS:	Bills; Pellets; Passerines and Songbirds.
REFERENCES:	Verbeek, 1975a, b.

Help	Abbreviations	Species-Alphabetical	Species-Taxonomic	Essays-Alphabetical	Essays-Categorized
Except for Stanford Locations, the material in this species treatment is taken, with permission, from The Birder's Handbook (Paul Ehrlich, David Dobkin, & Darryl Wheye, Simon & Schuster, NY. 1988).