After reading in our column about how robins often overwinter in Maine (and thereby shattering some folks’ illusions of winter’s end in, say, January) we were asked recently about which species we consider to be true harbingers of spring. We mentioned turkey vulture and red-winged blackbird. When we see a vulture teetering on a warm southerly breeze, or a red-wing squawking and flashing that red epaulet from the cattails at the edge of a roadside pond, we know warmer weather and sunshine are on the way.

But when we hear the quick, sweet, somewhat raspy song of the eastern phoebe (sayornis phoebe), spring for us has sprung. And we’re not alone. How many times have you heard a friend or family member say something like, “Spring is here, my phoebes are back.” Perhaps you say it yourself!

People tend to feel a little protective of them, and rightly so, since they readily accept our homes as their own, building (or reusing) their mud-and-grass nests in the nooks and crannies of our sheds, barns, the back deck, maybe under eaves of our own house. Hanging laundry out on the lawn or raking leaves is less of a chore with a phoebe flitting from perch to perch catching insects and giving its signature tail wag. What they lack in color (during the breeding season, brownish gray above and whitish below), they make up in personality.

In addition to yards, eastern phoebes prefer to set up housekeeping in parks and the edges of woodlands. It may surprise you to know that after mating, the pair doesn’t hang out much together. In fact, during egg-laying, the female may “shoo” the male away. Mama phoebe lays two to six white eggs, which take about 16 days to hatch. One of our most familiar of a family of birds called “flycatchers,” phoebes eat spiders and insects such as wasps, spiders, flies, and mosquitoes.

Although they are one of Maine’s favorite birds, eastern phoebes breed from Texas to the northern Canadian provinces and east to the Atlantic Ocean. They spend the winter in the southern U.S. through Texas and much of Mexico.

The eastern phoebe holds the honor of being the first bird in North America to be banded, when in 1804, John James Audubon attached a silvered thread to the leg of a phoebe so he could track its return in years to come.

Now is a great time to listen for the familiar “fee-bee” in your yard or other phoebe spot. Just be careful not to confuse the song with the “fee-bee” of the black-capped chickadee, which although similar, is sweeter and clearer — the phoebe’s song is sung more quickly, snappier and is a bit raspy.

This time of year, you can easily hear and see both species, and many more as spring springs into action here in Maine.

Dr. Jeff Wells is the senior scientist for the Boreal Songbird Initiative. During his time at the famed Cornell Lab of Ornithology and as the Audubon Society's national bird conservation director, Dr. Wells earned a reputation as one of the nation's leading bird experts and conservation biologists. Jeff's grandfather, the late John Chase, was a columnist for the Boothbay Register for many years. Allison Childs Wells, also formerly of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is a widely published natural history writer and a senior director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Together, they have been writing and teaching people about birds for decades. The Maine natives are authors of the highly acclaimed book, “Maine's Favorite Birds.”