Young Wood Pewee

Most of the local birds have been silent, but the Wood Pewees, both young and mature, are starting to find their voices again. The adults, of course, know the proper way to whistle their "pee-o-wee" calls, but the kids are not quite there yet, and often miss a syllable or two. The youngsters, whose underparts have a yellowish wash—the parents are mostly white—are also busy mastering another skill: fly-catching. On many walks these days, I spot the little birds perching on the very ends of branches and dutifully scanning the sky for insects. Once a potential meal appears, the youngster launches itself into the air and flies a more-or-less graceful loop back to its perch. This one succeeded in the hunt. After it swallowed its little meal, it whistled a fairly close approximation of its namesake call. Then it went back to work.