PHOEBE

any of three species of New World birds of the family Tyrannidae (order Passeriformes). In North America the best-known species is the Eastern phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), 18 cm (7.5 inches) long, plain brownish gray above and paler below. Its call is a brisk "fee-bee" uttered over and over. It makes a mossy nest, strengthened with mud, on a ledge, often under a bridge. In the open country of western North America is Say's phoebe (S. saya), a slightly larger bird with buff-hued underparts. The most widely distributed is the black phoebe (S. nigricans), occurring from the southwestern United States to Argentina; it is dark above with a contrasting white belly. All phoebes have the habit of twitching their tails when perching. in Greek mythology, a Titan, daughter of Uranus and Gaea. By Coeus she was the mother of Leto and grandmother of Apollo and Artemis. She was also the mother of Asteria and Hecate. Her epithet was Gold-Crowned, but her name, like Apollo's forename Phoebus, signified brightness. In later mythology she was identified with the moon as were Artemis and her Roman counterpart Diana. See also Selene. outermost known satellite of Saturn. About 220 km (136 miles) in diameter, the satellite has a mean distance from Saturn of about 12,952,000 km. The orbit is significantly eccentric, retrograde, and steeply inclined to the plane of Saturn's rings and regular satellites. Thus it seems possible that Phoebe may be a captured object similar to an asteroid, rather than a primordial satellite of Saturn.