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.
识别特征
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.
分类信息
- 学名
- Polioptila californica
- 命名信息
- Brewster, 1881
- 目
- Passeriformes
- 科
- Polioptilidae
- 属
- Polioptila
分布与栖息地
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.
- 迁徙
- Resident species
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- declining
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Pygmy Nightjar
Nyctipolus hirundinaceus
Very small nightjar with an indistinct buffy throat. Ground color is variable between subspecies, with some paler and others darker. In flight, note the white wing stripes in both sexes. Males have two white patches on tail. Found in wooded rocky caatinga (dry scrubby forest), where it roosts on rock outcrops and boulders. The song is a short “wheeo.”
Naga Wren-Babbler
Spelaeornis chocolatinus
A tiny bird that skulks in the dense undergrowth of evergreen forests, particularly around running water. Brown above with a large white throat patch and belly. Similar to Tawny-breasted and Gray-bellied Wren-Babblers, but the Long-tailed Wren-Babbler has a longer tail and distinct white streaks along the flanks. The song is a relatively short warble of 3-5 loud, melodic notes.
White-fronted Falconet
Microhierax latifrons
Tiny, compact, black-and-white falcon. Black above, with a white chest and pale orangish belly. Male has a white crown and face; in female, the white is replaced by rusty orange. Restricted to northern Borneo, where mostly unmistakable; in narrow range of overlap with Black-thighed Falconet, look for White-fronted’s white or orange crown and paler underparts. Like other falconets, frequently encountered in pairs or groups. Perches up on bare branches in open forest, forest edge, and clearings.
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