Blue-gray Gnatcatcher: Springtime Sprite

_{This YouTube video was produced by the American Bird Conservancy.}

The lively little Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) is a welcome sign of early spring, bouncing through the burgeoning trees with a quick-flicking tail and wheezy, high-pitched calls. A glimpse of this bird reveals a slender, blue-gray sprite with white eyerings and a long black tail edged in white.

Most members of its genus, Polioptila (the name combines the Ancient Greek words for gray and plumage), are resident in Central and South America. These small, active birds are related to wrens, such as the Carolina Wren and Northern House Wren.

The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is the northernmost-occurring species of its genus, and the only truly migratory one. But the boundaries of its breeding range can get a little fuzzy. Why, and how?

These tiny dynamos arrive early on their breeding grounds in the north, but it sometimes takes a little backtracking to get there. Every so often, large groups of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers miss the mark and fly further north than necessary, possibly carried along by strong winds. Climate change is also causing the gnatcatcher’s breeding range to shift northward as temperatures increase.

Also known as: Little Mockingbird, Perlita Grisilla (Spanish)

Learn more: https://abcbirds.org/bird/blue-gray-gnatcatcher/