View source for Sayornis

{{Short description|Genus of birds}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name              = Phoebes
| image             = Sayornis phoebe -Owen Conservation Park, Madison, Wisconsin, USA-8.jpg
| image_caption     = ''[[Eastern phoebe|Sayornis phoebe]]''
| taxon             = Sayornis
| authority         = [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]], 1854
| type_species      = ''[[Black phoebe|Sayornis nigricans]]''<ref name=HM4>{{cite web |url=https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=107 |title=Tyrannidae |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=aviansystematics.org |publisher=The Trust for Avian Systematics |access-date=16 July 2023 }}</ref>
| 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]].<ref>{{ 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}}<!--Of the 9 parts, Vol 38 has parts 4-9 --></ref><ref>{{ 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 }}</ref> 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".<ref name=job>{{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] }}</ref> The English ''Phoebe'' is a name for the Roman moon-goddess [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]].<ref name=OED>{{Cite OED |Phoebe }}</ref> A large [[molecular phylogenetic]] study of the [[tyrant flycatcher]] family published in 2020 found that ''Sayornis'' was [[sister group|sister]] to the genus ''[[Empidonax]]''.<ref name=harvey>{{Cite journal | last1=Harvey | first1=M.G. | display-authors=etal | date=2020 | title=The evolution of a tropical biodiversity hotspot | journal=Science | volume=370 | issue=6522 | pages=1343-1348 | doi=10.1126/science.aaz6970 | hdl=10138/329703 | hdl-access=free }} A high resolution version of the phylogenetic tree in Figure 1 is available from the first author's website [http://www.harveybirdlab.org/docs/Harveyetal2020_Fig1_tree_HiRes.pdf here].</ref>

==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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ebird.org/species/blkpho |title=Black Phoebe - eBird }}</ref> They aren't fond of dense forests, and prefer low perches.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ebird.org/species/easpho/ |title=Eastern Phoebe - eBird }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ebird.org/species/saypho/ |title=Say's Phoebe - eBird }}</ref>

They often slowly lower and raise their tails while perched.<ref>{{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=15 August 2023 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Sayornis-nigricans |title=Black Phoebe (''Sayornis nigricans'') :: Xeno-canto }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Sayornis-phoebe |title=Eastern Phoebe (''Sayornis phoebe'') :: Xeno-canto }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Sayornis-saya |title=Say's Phoebe (''Sayornis saya'') :: Xeno-canto }}</ref>

===Species===
The genus contains three species:<ref name=ioc>{{cite web |editor1-last=Gill |editor1-first=Frank |editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) |editor2-last=Donsker |editor2-first=David |year=2019 |title=Tyrant flycatchers |work=World Bird List Version 9.2 |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/flycatchers/ |publisher=International Ornithologists' Union |access-date=29 June 2019 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name !! Common name !! Distribution
|-
|[[File:Sayornis phoebe -Owen Conservation Park, Madison, Wisconsin, USA-8.jpg|120px]] || ''Sayornis phoebe'' ||[[Eastern phoebe]]||Eastern North America
|-
|[[File:Black Phoebe - Colombia S4E4664.jpg|120px]] ||''Sayornis nigricans'' ||[[Black phoebe]]||United States, Mexico and Central America, and parts of South America
|-
|[[File:Say's Phoebe fledgling (14428604837).jpg|120px]] || ''Sayornis saya'' ||[[Say's phoebe]]||United States and Canada
|-
|}

==References==
{{Portal|Birds}}
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Sayornis| ]]
[[Category:Bird genera]]
[[Category:Tyrannidae]]
[[Category:Birds of the Americas]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte]]