Very small and rarely standing still, the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher has two subspecies, the eastern and the western. They also have a noticeable white eye ring, and a very defined blue-gray coloring.
The breathy and wheezing song can be heard before the bird can be seen, and that could be your only clue that they are in your presence. However, during the fall, if they are still attending young, they will be a little more lenient to your view.
They glean small insects, usually from mid- to upper-story levels of trees. In the east, they are riparian dwellers and foragers, and usually solitary. The eastern birds nest in swampy woods and tend to favor broad-leafed, tall trees, especially oak which also is a favorite of most insects. In the western regions, they tend to be located in mature brushy woods or thickets, as well as oak-juniper woods and chapparal. Western nest in pinyon-juniper areas, open woods, or arid and dense brush.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, July 2016
Boomer Creek
Once classed as an Old World Warbler, the male has a thin, black line over his eye and the long tail appears white from underneath. The birds will often flutter while gleaning prey in foliage or around thin twigs. Berries and fruit will be consumed in the winter.
Both sexes will build the nest, and the male often will show the female an assortment of sites on the territory, singing to her all the while as he perches during her inspection. Both incubate fairly equally, as well as brood the young, who remain in the nest for close to two weeks. The nests are usually made with spider silk and lichens. They are attached either in small, high forks or on a horizontal branch.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Nest
OK 2016
They are migratory, except in the extreme southern ranges.
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