Polioptila caerulea

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Common Names

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Description

Family Certhiidae

A Family of small passerine woodland birds, consisting of two subfamilies. Typically brown above and white below, they have thin pointed down-curved bills, which they use to extricate insects from bark . Like woodpeckers, they have stiff tail feathers which they use to support themselves vertically trees .

Physical Description

Habitat

Non-breeding habitats are usually forested habitats or thickets.

Vegetation: tropical deciduous forests, tropical lowland evergreen forest, tropical lowland evergreen forest, second-growth forests and woodlands, arid montane scrubs • Maximum Elevation: 2,100 meters • Foraging Strata: Canopy • Center of Abundance: Upper subtropical: higher slopes, 500-1,600 m.; subtropics. • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: Low

Ecology:
List of Habitats :1.5Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry 1.6Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland 3.7Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude 14.6Artificial/Terrestrial - Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest

Biology

Diet

The diet of the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is primarily insects that it captures by searching among the leaves.

Reproduction

The breeding season begins in mid-April, peaks in May, and extends to early June. The breeding habitat encompasses many types of forested areas, including deciduous forest , wooded areas, and bottomland forest. The nest is commonly built 2-25 feet ( m ) above the ground in a tree . The cup-shaped nest is built by both adults out of lichen, spider webs, and plant material . The female lays 4-5 eggs that both adults incubate for approximately 13 days. The young are alticial and fledge 10-12 days after they hatch . Both adults brood the young at the nest.

• Breeding Habitat: Woodland
• Nest Location: Mid-story/canopy nesting
• Nest Type: Open-cup
• Clutch Size: 4-5
• Length of Incubation : 13 days
• Days to Fledge: 10-12
• Number of Broods: 1, 2 in far south

Migration

Migratory

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Polioptila caerulea (Linnaeus, 1766)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001.

Similar Species

Black-Tailed Gnatcatcher, Black-Capped Gnatcatcher

Members of the genus Polioptila

There are approximately 48 species in this genus:

P. albiloris · P. albiloris albiloris · P. albiloris vanrossemi · P. bilineata · P. caerula · P. caerulea (Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher) · P. caerulea amoeniccima · P. caerulea amoenissima · P. caerulea caerulea (Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher) · P. caerulea cozumelae · P. caerulea deppei · P. caerulea obscura · P. californic · P. californica (California Gnatcatcher) · P. californica atwoodi · P. californica californica (Coastal California Gnatcatcher) · P. clementsi · P. coerulea · P. dumicola · P. dumicola berlepschi · P. dumicola dumicola · P. dumicola ssp · P. guianensis · P. lactea (Creamy-Bellied Gnatcatcher) · P. lembeyei (Cuban Gnatcatcher) · P. leucogastra · P. maior · P. melanura (Black-Tailed Gnatcacher) · P. melanura californica · P. melanura lucida · P. melanura margaritae · P. melanura melanura · P. melanura pontilis · P. nigriceps (Black-Capped Gnatcatcher) · P. nigriceps amoenissima · P. plumbea · P. plumbea atricapilla · P. plumbea bairdi · P. plumbea bilineata · P. plumbea brodkorbi · P. plumbea daguae · P. plumbea innotata · P. plumbea maior · P. plumbea plumbea · P. plumbea plumbiceps · P. plumbea superciliaris · P. restricta · P. schistaceigula

Bibliography

• Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places: For References from A–L. For References from M–Z.
• BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
• BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 13, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 9 providers.
• Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
• NatureServe. 2003. Downloadable animal data sets. NatureServe Central Databases. Accessed February 6, 2005.
• Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, and quot;Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds, and quot; in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
• Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• The Georgia Museum of Natural History and Georgia Department of Natural Resources
• Universal Biological Indexer and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 17, 2008.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 13, 2008:

• Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
• Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
• Avian Knowledge Network: Project FeederWatch
• Bird Studies Canada: Marsh Monitoring Program - Birds
• Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 1981-1985
• Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 2001-2005
• Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Bird Collection
• Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates: Bird Collection
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• New Brunswick Museum: NBM birds
• UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3848382
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-179856
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13837240
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 179853
• IUCN ID: 52057
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABPBJ08010
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 220

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