Blue-gray gnatcatcher

The blue-gray gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) is a very small gnatcatcher native to North America.

Blue-gray gnatcatcher
Call recorded in Minnesota
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Polioptilidae
Genus:	Polioptila
Species:	P. caerulea
Binomial name
Polioptila caerulea (Linnaeus, 1766)
Geographical distribution of blue-gray gnatcatcher   Breeding   Year-round   Nonbreeding   Nonbreeding (scarce)
Synonyms
Motacilla caerulea Linnaeus, 1766

Description

It is 10–13 cm (3.9–5.1 in) in length, 6.3 in (16 cm) in wingspan,^[2] and weighing only 5–7 g (0.18–0.25 oz).^[3][4] Adult males are blue-gray on the upperparts with white underparts, slender dark bill, and a long black tail edged in white. Females are less blue, while juveniles are greenish-gray. Both sexes have a white eye ring.

• 
  Blue-gray gnatcatcher gleaning a spider. Sacramento, California
• 
  Blue-gray gnatcatcher in Arastradero Preserve in Palo Alto, California
• 
  Catching an insect in Prospect Park, Brooklyn

Distribution and habitat

The blue-gray gnatcatcher's breeding habitat includes open deciduous woods and shrublands in southern Ontario, the eastern and southwestern United States, and Mexico. Though gnatcatcher species are common and increasing in number while expanding to the northeast,^{[5][full citation needed]} it is the only one to breed in Eastern North America. They migrate to the southern United States, Mexico, northern Central America (Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras), Cuba, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Cayman Islands.

Diet and behaviour

Blue-gray gnatcatchers prefer humid areas with large leaves, woodlands, and more open sandy areas with sparse trees where they mainly eat insects, insect eggs, and spiders. The males often work to build nests, help incubate and raise the young, as well as feed the children, often thought to be a mother's role. Their nests are often built far out on a tree's branch with spider silks and lichen plants holding them together.^[6] They may hover over foliage while snatching prey (gleaning), or fly to catch insects in flight (hawking). The tail is often held upright while defending territory or searching for food.^[7]

Sounds

The songs (and calls) are often heard on breeding grounds, (usually away from nest) and occasionally heard other times of the year. Calls: "zkreee, zkreee, zkreee", Songs: "szpree zpree spreeeeey spree spre sprzrreeeee"

Breeding

Both parents build a cone-like nest on a horizontal tree branch, and share feeding the young. The incubation period is 10–15 days for both sexes, where the female lays a clutch of 4–5 eggs.^[8] The blue-gray gnatcatcher can raise up to two broods in a season.^[9]

Blue-gray gnatcatcher nest made of lichens, hair, and spiderwebs

A juvenile blue-gray gnatcatcher in San Bruno