black phoebes in San Juan county? Request for information

["L. D. Giddings" <seldom74 at xmission dot com>]

At about 5 p.m. this afternoon I observed a possible black phoebe in a 
field about one mile east of Bluff. I have seen numerous black phoebes 
over the last few years, but I am a little hesitant to ID this bird 
definitively as a black phoebe for three reasons:

1. The bird was of the correct size and shape as a black phoebe. It was 
roughly the same size as white-crowned sparrows nearby. The back of its 
head rose to a little bit of a peak as shown in Sibleys. It had a very 
dark head, back, chest, and tail, both above and beneath, and was nearly 
pure white on its belly and undertail coverts and not buffy at all. The 
bird did not have an eye ring or wing bars nor any white anywhere other 
than on its underside as previously described. It had black eyes and a 
thin black bill. However, its upper body, rather than being pure black, 
was a very dark gray. Is there some color variation in black phoebes due 
to age, season, or are there sub-species?

2. The bird's behavior was more or less black phoebe-like. After 
studying the bird through binoculars in good light at about 75' for 
several minutes, I played a black phoebe call. The bird did not respond. 
Out of season, this perhaps is not significant.

3. According to the range maps in Sibleys and National Geographic, black 
phoebes are not normally found in San Juan county.  Has this specie been 
previously sighted in this county (San Juan county) or in other nearby 
areas?

Many thanks,

Lu Giddings
_______________________________________________

"Utah Birds" web site: http://www.utahbirds.org
    BirdTalk:
To subscribe, e-mail:  birdtalk-subscribe@utahbirds.org
To unsubscribe, e-mail:  birdtalk-unsubscribe@utahbirds.org
To send a message, e-mail:  birdtalk@utahbirds.org
_________________________________________________