Gnatcatchers (Polioptilidae)
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) - HBW 11, p. 370
French: Gobemoucheron gris-bleu
German: Blaumückenfänger
Spanish: Perlita Grisilla
Taxonomy: Motacilla caerulea Linnaeus, 1766, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Geographical differences over extensive range minor; race caesiogaster very similar to, and sometimes synonymized with, nominate; amoenissima sometimes considered synonymous with obscura, and treatment as separate races based largely on apparently disjunct distribution of latter. More study needed; listed ranges of races tentative. Nine subspecies currently recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- amoenissima Grinnell, 1926 - breeds W USA (S Oregon E to SW Wyoming) S to W Mexico (Baja California S to c. 30° N, on mainland S possibly to SE Coahuila and W Zacatecas); non-breeding SW USA (CW California, W & C Arizona, S New Mexico, W Texas) and Mexico (S to Jalisco and San Luis Potosí).
- caerulea (Linnaeus, 1766) - breeds from SE Canada S in USA to E Nebraska, C Kansas, C Texas and S Florida; non-breeding SE USA S to Mexico (S from C & SC Sinaloa), Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and (perhaps this race) Cuba.
- obscura Ridgway, 1883 - extreme S Baja California (W Mexico).
- amoenissima Grinnell, 1926 - breeds W USA (S Oregon E to SW Wyoming) S to W Mexico (Baja California S to c. 30° N, on mainland S possibly to SE Coahuila and W Zacatecas); non-breeding SW USA (CW California, W & C Arizona, S New Mexico, W Texas) and Mexico (S to Jalisco and San Luis Potosí).
- caerulea (Linnaeus, 1766) - breeds from SE Canada S in USA to E Nebraska, C Kansas, C Texas and S Florida; non-breeding SE USA S to Mexico (S from C & SC Sinaloa), Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and (perhaps this race) Cuba.
- obscura Ridgway, 1883 - extreme S Baja California (W Mexico).
- perplexa A. R. Phillips, 1991 - E Mexico from SE Coahuila and SW Nuevo León S on E part of high plateau to NE San Luis Potosí, possibly to S Hidalgo.
- deppei van Rossem, 1934 - E & S Mexico from WC Nuevo León and Tamaulipas S to E San Luis Potosí (possibly also Tlaxcala and Puebla), and Yucatán S to Isthmus of Tehuantepec and N & W Chiapas; probably also Belize; N populations non-breeding in S Mexico (Morelos, C & N Michoacán and from S Guerrero) E in Pacific lowlands to Guatemala.
- comiteca A. R. Phillips, 1991 - SC Mexico (from N Hidalgo and Michoacán) S in semi-arid highlands to NW Guatemala.
- nelsoni Ridgway, 1903 - NW, C & CS Oaxaca, in S Mexico.
- cozumelae Griscom, 1926 - Cozumel I, off NE Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico).
- caesiogaster Ridgway, 1887 - Bahamas (islands of Little Abaco, Great Abaco, Andros, New Providence, Inagua).
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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A begging juvenile on a branch and an adult killing a caterpillar by hitting it on a branch. Locality Rio Lagartos, Yucatán State, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico (Southern) (ssp deppei)
Pieter de Groot Boersma 27 July 2005 6 years ago 16 sec 4.5 -
A bird in a bush, calling, as are congeners nearby. Locality Rio Lagartos, Yucatán State, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico (Southern) (ssp deppei)
Pieter de Groot Boersma 27 July 2005 6 years ago 20 sec 4.4 -
A bird scratching Locality Campeche State, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico (Southern)
Juan Sanabria 1 August 2009 3 years ago 38 sec 3.8 -
A bird flying form one branch to another and calling Locality Mount Airy, Maryland, USA (United States) (ssp caerulea)
Robert Schaefer 8 May 2001 5 years ago 15 sec 3.8 -
A bird moving in a tree Locality Macuiltépetl Ecological Park, Xalapa, Veracruz State, Mexico (Southern) (ssp deppei)
Josep del Hoyo 6 October 2006 5 years ago 26 sec 3.6 -
A bird in a tree Locality Campeche State, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico (Southern)
Juan Sanabria 1 August 2009 3 years ago 13 sec 3.5
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Gnatcatcher pausing during its active routine
Locality University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, California, USA (United States) (ssp amoenissima)
Justin Watts 13 December 2010 2 years ago 4.4 -
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in a tree.
Locality Lakeland, Polk County, Florida, USA (United States)
killiajk 31 December 2010 2 years ago 4.4 -
Perched.
Locality Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, Pinal County, Arizona, USA (United States) (ssp amoenissima)
Ken Simonite 11 April 2013 2 weeks ago ADDED LAST MONTH 4.2 -
Perched in the brush at the Basha Kill NWR.
Locality New York, USA (United States)
Lee Hunter 8 May 2010 13 weeks ago 4.2 -
Bird in middle strata (endemic race)
Locality Cozumel Island, Quintana Roo State, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico (Southern) (ssp cozumelae)
Rafael Merchante 18 September 2012 4 days ago ADDED LAST WEEK 4 -
Adult
Locality Everglades National Park, Florida, USA (United States)
Paul Cools 2 February 2008 23 weeks ago 4
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Calls of an individual Locality Cumming, Forsyth County, Georgia, USA (United States)
(ssp caerulea)
Stuart Fisher 4 June 2009 3 years ago 4
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