Polioptila caerulea

• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

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 : 1.5 Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry 1.6 Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland 3.7 Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude 14.6 Artificial/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 above the ground in a tree .

Nests are wonderful models of compactness and appeal. They’re made of plant down , shredded bark and leaves, and are covered with lichen. All but invisible on a limb, they are disclosed by the birds themselves. The species usually nests in May or June. The four or five eggs are greenish white, spotted with reddish brown and purple around the larger end.[1]

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

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 57 species in this genus:

P. albiloris (White-Lored Gnatcatcher) · P. albiloris albiloris (White-Lored Gnatcatcher) · P. albiloris albiventris · P. albiloris vanrossemi · P. bilineata · P. caerulea (Small Blue-Gray Flycatcher) · P. caerulea amoenissima · P. caerulea caerulea (Small Blue-Gray Flycatcher) · P. caerulea caesiogaster · P. caerulea cozumelae · P. caerulea deppei · P. caerulea nelsoni · P. caerulea obscura · P. californic · P. californica (San Francisquito Gnatcatcher) · P. californica atwoodi · P. californica californica (Coastal California Gnatcatcher) · P. clementsi · P. coerulea · P. dumicola (Masked Gnatcatcher) · P. dumicola berlepschi · P. dumicola dumicola (Masked Gnatcatcher) · P. dumicola ssp · P. facilis · P. guianensis (Guianan Gnatcatcher) · P. lactea (Creamy-Bellied Gnatcatcher) · P. lembeyei (Cuban Gnatcatcher) · P. leucogastra · P. maior · P. melanura (Black-Tailed Gnathcatcher) · P. melanura californica · P. melanura curtata · P. melanura lucida · P. melanura margaritae · P. melanura melanura (Black-Tailed Gnathcatcher) · P. melanura pontilis · P. nigriceps (Black-Capped Gnatcatcher) · P. nigriceps amoenissima · P. nigriceps nigriceps · P. nigriceps restricta · P. paraensis · P. plumbea (Tropical Gnatcatcher) · P. plumbea anteocularis · P. plumbea atricapilla · P. plumbea bairdi · P. plumbea bilineata · P. plumbea brodkorbi · P. plumbea cinericia · P. plumbea daguae · P. plumbea innotata · P. plumbea maior · P. plumbea parvirostris · P. plumbea plumbea (Tropical Gnatcatcher) · P. plumbea plumbiceps · P. plumbea superciliaris · P. restricta · P. schistaceigula (Slate-Throated Gnatcatcher)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A bibliography of birds: with special reference to anatomy, behavior, biochemistry --. by Reuben Myron Strong Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1959 UND url p. 142.
• A checklist of the vertebrate animals of Kansas / George D. Potts, Joseph T. Collins. [Lawrence, Kan.]: Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, 1991. ENG url p. 15.
• A history of North American birds, by S.F. Baird, T.M. Brewer, and R. Ridgway. Land birds, illustrated by 64 chromo-lithographic plates and 593 woodcuts. Boston, Little, Brown, 1875. ENG url p. 501.
• A list of the birds of New Hampshire. By Glover M. Allen. Manchester, N.H., Nature Study press, 1903. ENG url p. 179.
• A manual of North American birds. By Robert Ridgway. Illustrated by 464 outline drawings of the generic characters. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Company, 1887. ENG url p. 600.
• A review of the birds of Connecticut. By C. Hart Merriam. New Haven, Tuttle, Morehouse and amp; Taylor, Printers, 1877. ENG url p. 143.
• Animal Ecology. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1961. ENG url p. 455.
• Annals of the Carnegie Museum. [Pittsburgh]: Published by authority of the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Institute, 1901- ENG url p. 592.
• Archiv für Naturgeschichte. Berlin: Nicolai, 1835- GER url p. 139.
• 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.
• Birds of eastern Canada, by P. A. Taverner. Ottawa, J. de L. Tachprinter, 1919. ENG url p. 290.
• Birds of village and field: a bird book for beginners, by Florence A. Merriam. Illustrated. Boston, Houghton, Mifflin and company, 1898. ENG url p. 404.
• Birds. With the co-operation of John Cassin and George N. Lawrence. Washington, D.C., 1858. ENG url p. 379, p. 380, p. 381, p. 382.
• Brigham Young University science bulletin. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, [1955-1976] ENG url p. 48.
• Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. ENG url p. 254, p. 266, p. 344, p. 368, p. 407, p. 441, p. 443, p. 448, p. 449, p. 57, p. 713, p. 715, p. 722, p. 77, p. 780.
• Bulletin / Peabody Museum of Natural History. New Haven: The Museum, ENG url p. 187.
• Bulletin of the Bird Club of Princeton University. Princeton, N.J.: The Club, 1901. ENG url p. 19, p. 32.
• Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: BM(NH) ENG url p. 165, p. 238.
• Bulletin of the California Academy of Sciences. [S.l.: The Academy], 1884- ENG url p. 431.
• Bulletin of the Essex Institute. Salem, Mass., Essex Institute. ENG url p. 11.
• Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. Cambridge, Mass.: The Museum, ENG url p. 135, p. 174, p. 209, p. 236, p. 237, p. 401, p. 463, p. 638.
• Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club. Cambridge, Mass.: The Club, [1876-1883] ENG url p. 140, p. 170, p. 20, p. 206, p. 211.
• Bulletin of the scientific laboratories of Denison University. Granville, Ohio: [The University], 1885- ENG url p. 145.
• Cassinia. Philadelphia, Delaware Valley Ornithological Club. ENG url p. 64, p. 75, p. 80.
• Catalogue of birds of the Americas and the adjacent islands in Field Museum of Natural History. by Charles E. Hellmayr. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1934. ENG url p. 486, p. 488.
• Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. London, 1874-98. ENG url p. 442.
• Check-list of North American birds / prepared by a committee of the American ornithologists' union. Lancaster, Pa.: The Union, 1931. ENG url p. 265, p. 481, p. 507.
• Color key to North American birds, with bibliographical appendix, by Frank M. Chapman.. . with upwards of 800 drawings, by Chester A. Reed, B.S. New York, D. Appleton and amp; Company, 1912. ENG url p. 348.
• FWS/0BS. [Washington]Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior. ENG url p. 139, p. 139.
• Fauna of New England, 11: list of the aves / by Glover M. Allen. Boston: Society of Natural History, 1909. ENG url p. 10, p. 215.
• Fauna of New England. List of the Araneida. Boston, For Society, 1908. ENG url p. 10.
• Great Basin naturalist memoirs. [Provo, Utah]Brigham Young University, 1976-1992. ENG url p. 143, p. 156, p. 212.
• Handbook of birds of the western United States, including the great plains, great basin, Pacific slope, and lower Rio Grande Valley, by Florence Merriam Bailey; with thirty-three full-page plates by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, and over six hundred cuts in the BostonHoughton, Mifflin and company, 1902. ENG url p. 465, p. 465.
• History of the birds of Kansas. By N. S. Goss. Illustrating 529 birds. Topeka, Kan., G. W. Crane, 1891. ENG url p. 639.
• Ibis. [London]Published for the British Ornithologists' Union by Academic Press. ENG url p. 437.
• Katalog der Eiersammlung, nebst Beschreibungeh der aussereuropchen Eier. Berlin, R. Friedler and amp; Sohn, 1910. GER url p. 187.
• Katalog der Vogelsammlung in Museum der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Frankfurt am Main, von Ernst Hartert. Abgeschlossen Mitte Januar 1891. Frankfurt a.M., Knauer, 1891. GER url p. 97.
• Memoirs of the Nuttall Ornithological Club. Cambridge, Mass.: The Club, 1886- ENG url p. 139, p. 310.
• Memoirs of the San Diego Society of Natural History. San Diego, Calif.: The Society, 1931- ENG url p. 176.
• Michigan bird life: a list of all the bird species known to occur in the State together with an outline of their classification and an account of the life history of each species, with special reference to its relation t by Walter Bradford Barrows. Lansing: Michigan Agricultural College, 1912. ENG url p. 705.
• Miscellaneous publication - University of Kansas, Museum of Natural History. Lawrence, University of Kansas, 1946-1996. ENG url p. 42, p. 46.
• Ornithologisches Centralblatt. Leipzig. ENG url p. 23.
• Our living resources: a report to the nation on the distribution, abundance, and health of U.S. plants, animals, and ecosystems / [edited by], Edward T. LaRoe.. . [et al.]. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Biological Service, 1995. ENG url p. 487.
• Pacific coast avifauna / Cooper Ornithological Club of California. Santa Clara, Calif.: The Club, 1900-1974. ENG url p. 100, p. 129, p. 78.
• Point Lobos Reseerve; State Park, California. Interpretation of a primitive landscape. Sacramento, [State Print. Off., 1954] ENG url p. 96.
• Postilla. New Haven, Peabody Museum of Natural History, 1950-2004. ENG url p. 8.
• Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. [Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia] ENG url p. 112, p. 149, p. 500.
• Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. [Washington, Biological Society of Washington] ENG url p. 198.
• Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. Boston [etc.]Boston Society of Natural History. ENG url p. 69.
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• The Great Basin naturalist. Provo, Utah, M.L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University. ENG url p. 250, p. 32, p. 328, p. 338, p. 49, p. 499, p. 653.
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• The Quarterly journal of the Boston Zoological Society. Boston: The Society, 1881- ENG url p. 57.
• The bird book: illustrating in natural colors more than seven hundred North American birds; also several hundred photographs of their nests and eggs / by Chester A. Reed. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, Page and amp; company, 1915. ENG url p. 465.
• The birds of Illinois and Wisconsin. Chicago, 1909. ENG url p. 704, p. 759.
• The birds of Ohio; a complete scientific and popular description of the 320 species of birds found in the state. With introd. and analytical keys by Lynds Jones; illustrated with photos. taken by the author and others. Columbus, Wheaton Pub. Co., 1903. ENG url p. 235, p. 660, p. 667.
• The birds of the West Indies. Including all speciesknown to occur in the Bahama Islands, the Greater Antilles, the Caymans, and the Lesser Antilles, excepting the islands of Tobago and Trinidad. By Charles B. Cory. Boston, Estes and amp; Lauriat, 1889. ENG url p. 3.
• The oist. Albion, N.Y.: Frank H. Lattin, 1886-1941. ENG url p. 67.
• The transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis. St. Louis: The Academy, 1860-1958. ENG url p. 281.
• Transactions of the Academy of Science of Saint Louis. [St. Louis, Academy of Science of St. Louis] ENG url p. 281.
• Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History. [San Diego]: The Society, 1905- ENG url p. 295, p. 46, p. 50.
• University of Kansas publications, Museum of Natural History. Lawrence, University of Kansas. ENG url p. 109, p. 263, p. 502, p. 507, p. 603, p. 606, p. 621, p. 650, p. 667, p. 672, p. 691.
• Verhandlungen der Ornithologischen Gesellschaft in Bayern. M: E. Reinhardt, 1904-1989. GER url p. 227.

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.
• New Mexico Wildlife. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Version of April 24, 2009.
• 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.
• Peterson, Alan P. Zoological Nomenclature Resource. Accessed June 19, 2009.
• 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

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: 13851806
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 179853
• IUCN ID: 52057
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABPBJ08010
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 220

Footnotes

1. New Mexico Wildlife. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Version of April 24, 2009. [back]

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