Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Photo Gallery
Breeding male
Tiny and slim with long legs, a long tail, and a thin, straight bill. Blue-gray above and white below. Breeding males have a black V on their foreheads extending above their eyes. Note black tail with white outer tail feathers and white eyering.
© Kojo Baidoo / Macaulay LibraryMaryland, April 19, 2020Female/nonbreeding male
Tiny songbird with a long, dark tail with white outer tail feathers. Females/nonbreeding birds are gray above with a thin white eyering.
© John Whigham / Macaulay LibraryGeorgia, April 01, 2020Female
Builds a tiny nest on top of a branch, using spiderweb, plant fibers, and lichens. Call is a sharp, nasal note.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryArkansas, April 08, 2005Not all videos have soundBreeding male
Energetic and fluttery bird that often cocks its tail up or to the side. Note thin white eyering and white outer tail feathers.
© Linda Chittum / Macaulay LibraryVirginia, April 13, 2017Breeding male
Often holds its tail up over its back. The outer tail feathers are white, but birds in western North America have black at the base of the outer tail feathers, whereas birds in the East have entirely white outer tail feathers.
© Matthew Pendleton / Macaulay LibraryUtah, April 29, 2013Female/nonbreeding male
Tiny songbird with a thin bill. Females/nonbreeding birds are grayish above and paler below with a thin white eyering.
© Sharif Uddin / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, December 28, 2019Female/nonbreeding male
Tiny grayish songbird that conspicuously flicks its white-edged tail from side to side. Note thin white eyering.
© Evan Lipton / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, September 01, 2020Habitat
Found in deciduous forests and mixed woodlands, often in moister areas and near edges.
© Deborah Dohne / Macaulay LibraryNew York, April 16, 2017Compare with Similar Species
Click on an image to compare
Species in This Family
Gnatcatchers(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Polioptilidae)
Don't miss a thing! Join our email list
The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds,
birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation.