| FEATURED LONG ISLAND BIRD by Karen BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER POLIOPTILA CAERULEA 4-4.5 in. (10-11 cm.) 0.18-0.025 oz. (5-7 g.) |
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| Pete Dunne, in his book the Essential Field Guide Companion, refers to the Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher as a “twig fairy.” “A tiny pale sliver of a bird that seems to dance more than forage through the canopy…” These are cute, small, frantic little birds that flit and move constantly throughout the woods. Very reminiscent of tiny Mockingbirds, they have a bluish gray back with white outer tail feathers (the tail is half the overall length of the bird). They also have a white eye ring and a tiny bill. Frequently the tail cocks upward as it flits through the branches and leaves. During the breeding season the male has a black stripe extending back from the bill just above the eye. |
| The Gnatcatcher begins its southward fall migration in September to its wintering grounds on the southeastern coastline as well as the Gulf coast, Mexico and Belize. Its range is expanding north, and its populations are stable or increasing.
Blue-gray gnatcatchers can be found on Long Island in many wooded areas such as Wertheim NWR, Moore’s Woods and Connetquot River State Park. So, while walking in the woods keep your eyes open for a tiny blue gray bird constantly moving and your ears attuned to a high pitched “spee” call and you will be treated to a wonderful little bird…the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher! Good Birding! Karen |
| A Site About Long Island Birds & Birdwatching |
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| The blue-gray gnatcatcher breeds throughout much of the U.S. The birds migrate North in April with the males arriving first to establish territory.
The males will sing a thin buzzy song once on territory and when the female arrives the male will “show” the female possible nest sites. The nest is then built by both sexes. It is usually placed anywhere from 25 ft. to 80 ft high on a horizontal limb at a fork in the branch. It is cup shaped and is made from plant fibers, spider webs, moss and lichens. Four to five eggs are laid and incubation is done by both parent birds for 11-15 days. Fledging occurs after 10-15 days with both parents feeding and tending to the nestlings. Blue-gray gnatcatchers have been known to have two broods and they will use the first nesting material to build and add to a new, second nest. |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are feisty little birds that can be quite aggressive in territorial displays; either sex will fly at or dive upon intruders with audible bill snaps. If that doesn’t work, the fight escalates with aerial fights, where combatants flutter breast-to-breast with bills snapping, often rising in the air. If the fighting gets even more intense, birds may descend to the ground and grapple. In the process of defending the nest Gnatcatchers have been known to chase non-predatory birds as large as Robins, and predators as large as Red-tailed Hawks. The diet of blue-gray gnatcatchers is a variety of insects and spiders. It will feed while perched, “hover-glean” and “hawk” for insects (flying out from a branch and then back again). Its habitat is pine woods and “swampy deciduous woods and riparian lowlands” in the eastern U.S. |
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| Photo by Dianne |
| Photo by Stephen Lang |
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| Photo John Gutzounis |