- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Taxobox
name = Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Passeriformes
familia =Gnatcatcher
Sylviidae
genus = "Polioptila "
species = "P. caerulea"
binomial = "Polioptila caerulea"
binomial_authority = (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 southernOntario , the eastern and southwesternUnited States , andMexico . They build a cup nest similar in construction to ahummingbird 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 , northernCentral America -(Belize ,Guatemala , andHonduras ),Cuba ,Bahamas ,Turks and Caicos Islands , and theCayman Islands .They forage actively in trees or shrubs, mainly eating insects, insect eggs and
spider s. 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.
References
* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
External links
* [http://www.sdakotabirds.com/species/blue_gray_gnatcatcher_info.htm Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Information and Photos] - South Dakota Birds and Birding
* [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i7510id.html Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - "Polioptila caerula"] - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
* [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Blue-gray_Gnatcatcher.html Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Species Account] - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
* [http://www.bird-stamps.org/cspecies/14100400.htm Blue-grey Gnatcatcher stamps] (with RangeMap)-Turks and Caicos
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=6404 Blue-grey Gnatcatcher videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
* [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=blue-gray+gnatcatcher&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher photo gallery] VIREO
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