We are now a little over one month into Project Phoebe’s first field season, and several of our Phoebe pairs have laid eggs! After constructing and meticulously lining their mud nests with soft grasses, a female Phoebe lays 1 to 6 eggs that range from pure white to lightly spotted around one end. She typically lays one egg per day. After all eggs are laid, she spends much of her time incubating them over the following two weeks. To help her keep her eggs warm, she loses a patch of belly feathers, allowing her to make skin contact with her eggs. The presence of this “brood patch” allows to identify whether Phoebes are female or male when we capture them to attach their ID bands.
The two eggs pictured below were recently laid in a nest in East Davis. The female laid three more eggs, for a total clutch of five eggs.
Nestling photos coming soon!
– Sage
