Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Polioptila melanura
Tiny gray insectivore of scrubby areas in the southwest U.S. and northern Mexico. Breeding males show a black cap with a thin white eyering; nonbreeding males have a thin black line over the eye. Females lack any black on the head. Note tail pattern from below: mostly black with bold white spots. Prefers dry, scrubby habitats such as desert washes, where pairs flit around in the low bushes. Listen for harsh scolding calls. Compare with Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, but note Black-tailed often looks drabber brownish-gray, and has much more black on the underside of the tail.
Identification
The black-tailed gnatcatcher reaches about 4.5 to 5 inches in length, much of it taken up by a long black tail lined with white outer feathers. The body is blue-grey, with white underparts, and while it is similar to the blue-grey gnatcatcher, the two birds are differentiated by the amount of black in the tail feathers. The male has a black cap during the summer that extends to the eyes. Females and winter males, lacking the black cap, are difficult to distinguish from the blue-grey gnatcatcher. The best way to tell the two apart is the tail; that of the blue-grey is mostly white when viewed from below, and the black-tailed is predominantly black underneath. Like other gnatcatchers, it may give harsh, scolding calls while foraging for small insects and spiders in desert shrubs.
Taxonomy
The black-tailed gnatcatcher was described by American ornithologist George Newbold Lawrence in 1857. Meaning 'black-tailed', its specific name is derived from the Ancient Greek melano- 'black' and oura 'tail'.
- Scientific name
- Polioptila melanura
- Authority
- Lawrence, 1857
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Polioptilidae
- Genus
- Polioptila
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Black-tailed gnatcatchers live in pairs all year, defending their territory and foraging in trees and low shrubs for a wide variety of small insects and some spiders. Unlike the blue-grey gnatcatcher, the black-tailed variety rarely catches insects in midair.<p>The nest is an open-cup, built by both sexes, and is typically found in low shrubs less than five feet off the ground. If available at the nesting site, desert mistletoe, Phoradendron californicum, is often used as the substrate for the nest, which provides nice concealment. It is constructed of a variety of materials including weeds, grass, strips of bark, spider webs and plant fibers. It is lined with finer, softer matter. Three to five bluish-white eggs with red-brown dots are incubated by both parents and take 14 days to hatch. The young are fed by both parents, and leave the nest 10 to 15 days after hatching. Even though cowbirds often lay eggs in this species' nests, and the pair end up raising cowbird young, the black-tailed gnatcatcher population seems to be holding up well.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Redthroat
Pyrrholaemus brunneus
Small gray scrubwrenlike bird with a fine bill, usually observed in shrubland, including mulga woodlands. Gray-brown above, paler below. Female pale around the face and throat; male has small rusty-red throat patch. Usually feeds on or near the ground. Larger than thornbills and rather plump, more like a whiteface. Song a sustained warbling, trilling medley, with buzzing and mimicking mixed in.
White-throated Robin-Chat
Dessonornis humeralis
A striking medium-sized robin-chat with a slaty gray crown and back separated from the black wings and face mask by a white bar in the shoulder and a white eyebrow, respectively. The throat and breast are white, fading into amber orange on the vent, on the rump, and in the outer tail. Pairs prefer thickets in a variety of woodland types, where they forage secretively on the ground by flicking through leaf litter. They will remain low or sit up on perches to sing their high-pitched melodious song which includes imitations of other species.
Antillean Nighthawk
Chordeiles gundlachii
Long-winged nightbird with intricate brown and gray patterning. Very similar to Common Nighthawk, best distinguished by voice. Gives a rapid series of hard, buzzy notes: "drik-rik-rik-rik." A Caribbean species; in the U.S., found only on the Florida Keys. Prefers open areas with mix of grass, bare ground, and shrubs. Nocturnal but can be seen hunting around dawn and dusk, searching for insects in flight.
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