Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
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| Polioptila caerulea (Linnaeus, 1766) |
The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, is a very small songbird.
Adults are blue-grey on the upperparts with white underparts, with a long slender bill and a long black tail. They have a white eye ring.
Their breeding habitat is open deciduous woods and shrublands in southern Ontario, the eastern and southwestern United States, and Mexico. They build a cup nest similar in construction to a hummingbird nest on a horizontal tree branch. Both parents construct the nest and feed the young; they may raise two broods in a season.
These birds migrate to the southern United States, Mexico, northern Central America-(Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras), Cuba, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Cayman Islands.
They forage actively in trees or shrubs, mainly eating insects, insect eggs and spiders. They may hover over foliage-(gleaning), or fly to catch insects in flight-(hawking).
The tail is often held upright while defending territory or searching for food.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Polioptila caerulea. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
[edit] External links
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - Polioptila caerula - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Blue-grey Gnatcatcher stamps (with RangeMap)-Turks and Caicos
- Blue-grey Gnatcatcher videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher photo gallery VIREO
 Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher |
