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====Similar Species==== | ====Similar Species==== | ||
[[Image:607-01590fg2 Nonbreeding Eastern Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Non-breeding (Eastern) <br />Photo by {{user|bobsofpa|bobsofpa}}<br />[[Big Cypress National Preserve]], [[Florida]], [[USA]], February 2007]] | [[Image:607-01590fg2 Nonbreeding Eastern Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Non-breeding (Eastern) <br />Photo by {{user|bobsofpa|bobsofpa}}<br />[[Big Cypress National Preserve]], [[Florida]], [[USA]], February 2007]] | ||
| − | Looks like a miniature [[:Northern Mockingbird| | + | Looks like a miniature [[:Northern Mockingbird|Mockingbird]]. |
| + | |||
==Distribution== | ==Distribution== | ||
Breeds from northern [[California]], [[Colorado]], southern Great Lakes region, southern [[Ontario]], and [[New Hampshire]] southward to [[Guatemala]]. Winters from southern [[California]], Gulf Coast, and Carolinas to [[Honduras]] and the [[Greater Antilles]]. | Breeds from northern [[California]], [[Colorado]], southern Great Lakes region, southern [[Ontario]], and [[New Hampshire]] southward to [[Guatemala]]. Winters from southern [[California]], Gulf Coast, and Carolinas to [[Honduras]] and the [[Greater Antilles]]. | ||
Revision as of 00:49, 10 July 2020
- Polioptila caerulea
Identification
4 1/2 -5" (11-13 cm)
Smaller than a sparrow. Tiny, slender, long-tailed bird, blue-gray above and white below, with white eye ring and broad white borders on black tail.
Similar Species
Looks like a miniature Mockingbird.
Distribution
Breeds from northern California, Colorado, southern Great Lakes region, southern Ontario, and New Hampshire southward to Guatemala. Winters from southern California, Gulf Coast, and Carolinas to Honduras and the Greater Antilles.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
This is a polytypic species, consisting of eight subspecies[1]:
- P. c. caerulea (Eastern):
- Eastern and central US to Gulf Coast; winters to north-eastern Mexico and West Indies
Western Group
- P. c. amoenissima:
- P. c. obscura:
- Southern Baja California (28°N to Cape District)
- P. c. gracilis:
- Foothills of north-western Mexico (south-eastern Sonora)
- P. c. nelsoni:
- Southern Mexico (Guerrero to Oaxaca and southern Chiapas)
- P. c. deppei:
- Eastern Mexico (San Luis Potosí to Veracruz, Tabasco and northern Chiapas)
- P. c. mexicana:
- South-eastern Mexico (Yucatán Peninsula)
- P. c. cozumelae:
- Cozumel Island (off eastern Mexico)
Habitat
Deciduous woodlands, streamside thickets, live oaks, pinyon-juniper, chaparral. Coastal sage scrub and gardens.
Behaviour
Breeding
The clutch consists of 4 or 5 brown-spotted pale blue eggs laid in a small, beautifully made cup of plant down and spider webs, decorated with flakes of lichen and fastened to a horizontal branch at almost any height above ground.
Vocalisation
Song is a thin, musical warble. Call note a distinctive, whining pzzzz, with a nasal quality.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 7 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blue-gray_Gnatcatcher
