Black Phoebe, part 2
The third and final bug-eater to attend the Christmas Eve Termite Smorgasbord was the Black Phoebe.
I see these little guys around the neighborhood all the time. They are always solitary when I see them, and they have a pretty little call.
They're cute, with their glossy black tops and white bottoms, and that tiny little crest they raise when they sing. But they are also undeniably hunters. It's hard for me to describe in objective terms why it is they seem that way to me. Even though they are roughly the same size as the sparrows and finches that are constantly at my feeders, the phoebes have a totally different bearing. They seem more poised and confident. When a finch perches on a twig, it looks as if it is barely there. Like it has no connection to where it is. A phoebe perches like it owns the whole tree. I think this has something to do with the fact that sparrows and finches mostly eat seeds. They don't really have to look around for their food. Their food is there. When they look around it is for things that are coming to kill them. But phoebes are looking for prey. Sparrows look at you and see one of a million things that might kill it. Phoebes look at you like they're wondering how you'd taste.
Black Phoebe, December 24, 2010, Nikon and Sigma 500.
I see these little guys around the neighborhood all the time. They are always solitary when I see them, and they have a pretty little call.
They're cute, with their glossy black tops and white bottoms, and that tiny little crest they raise when they sing. But they are also undeniably hunters. It's hard for me to describe in objective terms why it is they seem that way to me. Even though they are roughly the same size as the sparrows and finches that are constantly at my feeders, the phoebes have a totally different bearing. They seem more poised and confident. When a finch perches on a twig, it looks as if it is barely there. Like it has no connection to where it is. A phoebe perches like it owns the whole tree. I think this has something to do with the fact that sparrows and finches mostly eat seeds. They don't really have to look around for their food. Their food is there. When they look around it is for things that are coming to kill them. But phoebes are looking for prey. Sparrows look at you and see one of a million things that might kill it. Phoebes look at you like they're wondering how you'd taste.
Black Phoebe, December 24, 2010, Nikon and Sigma 500.
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