A Nice Snack for a Black Phoebe

And it’s a very big and healthy snack too

I was walking out of Sweetwater Wetlands on the bridge over the creek when I heard the tell-tale call of a Black Phoebe. Looking around, I saw this Phoebe perched atop a dry Fourwing Saltbush holding a dragonfly in its bill.

A few friends helped me to identify the dragonfly as a “teneral” female Variegated Meadowhawk. A teneral dragonfly is an adult that has recently emerged from its aquatic nymph stage. At that stage, the dragonfly cannot fly well and its wings and exoskeleton have not hardened. It is vulnerable and so more easily caught by predators. The Black Phoebe held its prize long enough for me to get a few shots, and then swallowed the dragonfly in an instant.

All that was left to see was the tip of the dragonfly’s abdomen and two of its four wings.

As the Phoebe continued to swallow its prey it seemed to have a happy look to it.

The meal has been consumed and the Black Phoebe resumed its normal look and pose.

Relaxed, it looked around for other prey or for other hunting locations.

Birdnote explores the differences between the Black Phoebe and the Say’s Phoebe. They are cousins but have their differences. You can listen to the Black Phoebe’s sound in this piece. This was the sound that drew my attention when I crossed the bridge at Sweetwater.