Say's Phoebe

This Say's Phoebe landed in my lap sort to speak. I was in my car taking pictures of a flock of American Pipits in a grassy field at Paramount Ranch in California when a bird landed on a post right next to me. To my delight it was a Say's Phoebe, the only one I saw the whole time I was in California last week.

Say's Phoebe

I've only seen a Say's Phoebe twice before and each time was a single sighting. Yesterday at Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve I saw several. They were fly-catching throughout the Preserve.
At one point, the Phoebe above sat long enough on a post for me to inch my way in and get some pretty close pictures.

Say's Phoebe

Whenever I see a bird with Flycatcher characteristics my first reaction is a bit of a groan. Not in seeing the bird, but in the difficulty I'm guessing I'm going to have in trying to identify it. Not that I don't enjoy the challenge, it's just that there is so little difference between some of them that many I have photographed have gone unidentified.
It came as a pleasant surprise then when I got a good look at at the images on my computer. The rusty underbelly was not typical of the Flycatchers I have seen and gave me hope that I would be successful in its identification.
After paging through Sibley's field guide, the illustrations of a Say's Phoebe seemed to fit this bird. I was at a bit of a disadvantage because of the angle and height in which I observed it, but that rusty belly and gray head made it a pretty obvious call.