California Gnatcatcher
Polioptila californica
Small, long-tailed songbird; similar to other gnatcatchers but darker gray overall. Male has black cap; female shows brownish tones to plumage. Underside of tail helpful in identification: almost entirely black with narrow white edges; much less white than both Black-tailed and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Very restricted range; found in shrubby sagebrush chaparral, usually in pairs. Listen for harsh scolding calls.
Identification
The male California gnatcatcher is dusky gray overall, distinguished only by its black crown and thin black beak. It has a long, thin black tail with narrow white tips and edges on the underside of the tail feathers. However, the male loses its plumage colors by winter and obtains a plumage color similar to the females. The female is similar to the male, but with a blue-gray instead of a black crown.<p>In its range from coastal Southern California south through Baja California and Baja California Sur, this inconspicuous non-migratory resident is most often seen flitting hastily into undergrowth, or heard giving its call, which sounds like a kitten's meow, a rising and falling zeeeeer, zeeeeer.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Polioptila californica
- Authority
- Brewster, 1881
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Polioptilidae
- Genus
- Polioptila
Range and habitat
In the main part of its range on the Baja California peninsula, the California gnatcatcher inhabits a variety of dry habitats including the Baja California desert and Gulf of California xeric scrub. On the northwest edge of its distribution in the states of Baja California and California, it is entirely restricted to coastal sage scrub.<p>In the northern part of its range (Southern California) this species was listed as Threatened by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1993 due to increasing development in its habitat, coastal sage scrub (current loss of coastal sage scrub in U.S. is estimated at 70 to 90 percent). Critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act has been designated for the California gnatcatcher. This species is especially vulnerable as a metapopulation due to its small populations in a limited habitat often live in the prime land to be developed for housing and commerce that can be easily isolated and reduced in size.<p>Though some of its habitat has been saved in public conservation lands such as state parks, its population has been severely fragmented. There are, however, ongoing efforts to preserve more open land in southern California to help ensure that this species will not disappear from its former range. California gnatcatchers are a focal species in many regional habitat conservation planning efforts.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Rosy Starling
Pastor roseus
Adult is unique, a vision in glossy black and pale pink. Juvenile is brown with an orange bill. Breeds in colonies on steppes and winters in open and wooded habitats. Gathers in huge numbers to roost, often mixing with other species at roost sites. Flocking birds keep up a constant cacophony of dry chattering calls.
Spot-backed Antshrike
Hypoedaleus guttatus
Chunky antshrike with a long tail and heavy bill with a hooked tip. Males are spotted black and white above (buffier in females) and brownish below with a barred tail. Found in the sub-canopy of vine tangles in humid forest, usually in pairs moving actively, but can be hard to see. The song is a long whistled trill that lasts about 5 seconds.
Reunion Cuckooshrike
Lalage newtoni
Fairly small, slim cuckooshrike in which males and females are strikingly different. Males are mostly gray with black wings and tail. Females have brown upperparts and white underparts with fine dark barring. Both sexes have some white in the tail. The juvenile is a drastically different-looking brownish bird with strong wing bars and unmarked buff underparts. Rare and local in montane forest on the island of Reunion. Gives a variety of vocalizations, including a quick series of identical whistles, a slower series of more nasal notes, and rough scolding calls. Within its small range, most similar to Reunion Bulbul, but easily separated by many details, including the lack of an orange bill.
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