Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Polioptila caerulea
They use spider silk to build their nests, allowing the structure to stretch and expand as the chicks grow larger.
- Scientific name
- Polioptila caerulea
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Polioptilidae › Polioptila
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Deciduous forests, open woodlands, and humid thickets.
- Diet
- Small insects, spiders, and insect eggs gleaned from foliage.
- Range
- North America, Central America, Caribbean
- Size
- 10-11 cm length, 5-7g weight
- Lifespan
- 3-4 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation and widespread pesticide use which reduces their primary food source.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. These tiny birds are highly active; observe quietly with binoculars to witness their foraging. Do not disturb nesting sites. If you find a grounded bird, contact a local wildlife rehabilitator.
The blue-gray gnatcatcher or blue-grey gnatcatcher ( Polioptila caerulea ) is a very small songbird, 10–13 cm (3.9–5.1 in) in length and weighing only 5–7 g (0.18–0.25 oz). Adult males are blue-gray on the upperparts with white underparts, have a 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.
Photo: Gonzalo Zepeda Martínez, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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