Hi Tweets,

Found a BLACK PHOEBE along the fence surrounding the Iona Settling Ponds
this evening and observed it from 6:30 PM--6:45 PM PDT. Naturally, not
another soul around, so it's currently a single-observer observation. I'm
not sure if any of the birders who arrived subsequent to my calling in the
bird were able to see it: a hulking great raincloud was slouching toward the
mainland and I was on my bike outta there.

The bird was originally on the W fence by the NW settling pond but moved to
the fence N of the NW pond, then moved eastward along the fence. It was
calling throughout the observation at a frequency of about 20 calls/minute.

If anyone can help me with the different plumages of Black Phoebe, if such
exist, I'd really appreciate it (we don't see many in BC: this would be the
third or fourth, with two confirmed).

The bird's description is very simple (and the field sketch one of the
simplest I ever had to do): a very uniform medium slate-grey (surprise,
*not* black--about the overall grey of a Gray Catbird) with a slightly
yellow-tinged cream-white belly, vent and undertail coverts; very thin pale
grey (not white) edgings to the outer rectrices, no wingbars. There was no
difference in grey density between head, wings, underparts (excepting
belly), tail or body. Paler thin covert and tertial edgings were barely
discernible and could have been produced by wear. Tail about 2/3 as long as
body, narrow, with some width-expansion toward the end and a slight notch;
no tail-pumping throughout observation (surprising in a phoebe). Call note:
a sharp, metallic 'ik! or 'wik!, sometimes uttered in loose pairs. Behavior
pure flycatcher: out, snap, back. Habitat perfect for a phoebe, Black or
Eastern, with extensive marsh and several ponds.

Would this have been a adult bird in worn plumage, softening the black to a
dark grey?

Thanks

Michael Price When I found out that seven of my years
Vancouver BC Canada was only one of theirs,
mprice at mindlink.net I started biting absolutely everything.
-Max Carlson (Ron Carlson's dog)