Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Polioptila caerulea

SUBFAMILY

Polioptilinae

TAXONOMY

Polioptila caerulea Linnaeus, 1766. Seven to nine subspecies recognized.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Cat-bird; French: Gobe-moucherons Gris-bleu; German: Blaumükenfänger; Spanish: Perlita Grisilla.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

4–4.5 in (10–11.5 cm); 0.18–0.25 oz (5–7 g). Tiny grayish bird with a distinct white eye ring, and a long tail, often cocked. Upperparts blue-gray, underparts whitish, outer tail feathers white, inner tail feathers black. Breeding male has black 'forehead' stripe extending from base of bill to just above and behind the eye.

DISTRIBUTION

Nearctic. Breeds throughout much of United States and Mexico south to Belize. Winters from extreme southern United States to Baja, Honduras, and Cuba.

HABITAT

Swampy deciduous or pine woods and riparian lowlands in eastern United States. Arid scrub, pinyon-juniper, and open woodland in western United States. Scrub, wood edges, thorn forest, and clearings on wintering grounds.

BEHAVIOR

Usually solitary or in pairs. Call is a thin buzzy whine, the male song, a rather soft series of such notes, interspersed with chips and whistles. In migratory populations, males arrives first and sing to defend their territories. Some populations in Mexico and Bahamas are permanent residents, but most are migratory between April and September.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Will take a wide variety of insects, spiders. Usually gleans while perched, but also hover-gleans and hawks for insects.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Monogamous. During courtship, the male leads the female to potential nest sites. The nest, built by both sexes, is a neat cup of plant fibers often camouflaged and placed high on a branch or fork of a tree or shrub. Four or five eggs are incubated by both parents for 11–15 days. Female broods the nestlings, but later both sexes feed young. Fledging occurs after 10–15 days.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.

Polioptila caerulea 4½″ (11 cm). Suggests a miniature Mockingbird. A tiny, slim mite, smaller than a chickadee; blue-gray above, whitish below, with a narrow white eye-ring. The long, black and white tail is often cocked like a wren's tail and flipped about.

Voice: Note, a thin, peevish zpee or chee. Song, a thin, squeaky, wheezy series of notes, easily overlooked.

Range: S. Utah, s. Ontario to Guatemala. Winters to Honduras.

Habitat: Open woods, oaks, pines, thickets.

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