CreatureData

Black phoebe

Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) is a species in the family Tyrannidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 17.8 g to 19.5 g and live up to 8 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

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Quick facts about the black phoebe

Weight
17.8 g – 19.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
8 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
rockysrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
16.3 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
3 – 6src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1.75src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the black phoebe live?

Not recorded

What is the black phoebe?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) is a passerine bird in the tyrant-flycatcher family. It breeds from southwest Oregon and California south through Central and South America. It occurs year-round throughout most of its range and migrates less than the other birds in its genus though its northern populations are partially migratory. Six subspecies are commonly recognized although two are occasionally combined as a separate species, the white-winged phoebe.

The black phoebe has predominantly black plumage, with a white belly and undertail coverts. The sexes are identical in color, and juveniles have brown feather tips and brown wing-bars. Its song is a repeated tee-hee, tee ho. It lives in a variety of habitats but is always near water. It is mainly insectivorous and waits on a perch before sallying out and catching its prey in the air. It makes an open cup nest which is placed under a cliff or a bridge and cemented in its place with mud.

From the Wikipedia article “Black phoebe” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_phoebe&oldid=1380714336), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

What does the black phoebe sound like?

Jonathon Jongsma · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Is the black phoebe endangered?

The black phoebe is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the black phoebe classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyTyrannidae
  6. genusSayornis
  7. SpeciesSayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827)

Synonyms Tyrannula nigricans

Other names and names in other languages (44)
  • Rocky mountain flycatcherEnglish
  • White-winged phoebeEnglish
  • mosquer negreCatalan
  • tyranovec černýCzech
  • ffebi dduWelsh
  • Sort FibiiDanish
  • SchwarzkopfphoebeGerman
  • Schwarz-PhoebeGerman
  • Schwarzkopf-PhoebetyrannGerman
  • SchwarzkopfphoebetyrannGerman
  • nigra muŝtiranoEsperanto
  • Mosquero negroSpanish
  • Atrapamoscas cuidapuentesSpanish
  • Atrapamoscas guardapuentesSpanish
  • Mosquero de AguaSpanish
  • Mosquetero negroSpanish
  • Papamoscas negroSpanish
  • Tigüín de AguaSpanish
  • Viudita de ríoSpanish
  • Viudita del ríoSpanish
  • mustafiiviFinnish
  • Moucherolle noirFrench
  • crno-bijeli muharCroatian
  • kormos tirannuszHungarian
  • Febe neroItalian
  • Febo neroItalian
  • Fibi neroItalian
  • クロツキヒメハエトリJapanese
  • juodasis febasLithuanian
  • melnā fībijaLatvian
  • Zwarte PhoebeDutch
  • fibik czarnyPolish
  • fibi-pretoPortuguese
  • caça-moscas-ribeirinhoPortuguese
  • Papa-moscas-fibi-pretoPortuguese
  • Чёрный фебRussian
  • Чёрный фибиRussian
  • pamuchár čiernySlovak
  • Crna fibiSerbian
  • svartfibiSwedish
  • Kara FibiTurkish
  • феб чорнийUkrainian
  • 黑菲比霸鶲Chinese
  • 黑长尾霸鹟Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the black phoebe

Other species in the same genus Sayornis.

LC, Least Concern

Say's phoebe

Sayornis saya

TyrannidaeNo free photo yet

CompareBlack phoebe vs Eastern phoebeBlack phoebe vs Say's phoebe

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the black phoebe?

An adult black phoebe weighs 17.8 g – 19.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the black phoebe endangered?

The black phoebe is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the black phoebe live?

The black phoebe has a recorded lifespan of 8 years.

What kind of animal is the black phoebe?

The black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) belongs to the family Tyrannidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-phoebe

MLA

“Black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-phoebe.

BibTeX
@misc{black_phoebe_2026,
  title = {Black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-phoebe},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}