Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Polioptila melanura
At a Glance
This long-tailed little insect-eater is at home in the desert southwest, even in arid scrub and creosote bush flats where there are few other birds. Black-tailed Gnatcatchers live in pairs all year, foraging together actively in the low brush. They stay in contact with each other using a wide variety of calls; some of these calls sound suspiciously like imitations of other desert birds, such as Verdin or Black-throated Sparrow.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Old World Warblers and Gnatcatchers, Perching Birds
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Desert and Arid Habitats, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets
Region
California, Southwest, Texas
Behavior
Flitter, Undulating
Population
11.000.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Permanent resident.
Description
4 1/2 -5" (11-13 cm). Very small, with longish tail. Outermost tail feathers (seen from below) have white edges and tips, most of tail black. In spring and summer, male has black cap. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (found in wetter habitats in summer) reaches desert in winter.
Size
About the size of a Sparrow
Color
Black, Blue, Gray, White
Wing Shape
Rounded
Tail Shape
Long, Rounded
Songs and Calls
The common call is a harsh 2- or 3-note wren-like scold: chee chee chee.
Call Pattern
Flat
Call Type
Buzz, Chirp/Chip, Raucous, Scream
Habitat
Desert brush, ravines, dry washes, mesquites. Found in many dry, scrubby habitats. Most common in Sonoran desert with varied growth of mesquites, acacias, and paloverdes, but also found in low acacia scrub and on open flats of creosote bush.
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Behavior
Eggs
4, sometimes 3-5. Bluish white, very lightly dotted with reddish brown. Incubation is by both parents, about 14 days.
Young
Both parents feed the nestlings. Young are reported to leave the nest about 10-15 days after hatching.
Feeding Behavior
Forages by moving about actively in shrubs and low trees, searching for insects. Often feeds more among leaves during summer and fall, more on bare twigs and branches during winter and early spring. Sometimes hovers to pick items from foliage. Unlike Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, rarely flies out to catch insects in mid-air.
Diet
Mostly insects. Feeds on a wide variety of small insects, including beetles, true bugs, caterpillars, wasps, ants, flies, moths, small grasshoppers, and many others; also some spiders. Eats small berries at times.
Nesting
Pairs may remain together all year, defending permanent territories. Cowbirds often lay eggs in nests of this species, and some gnatcatcher pairs wind up raising only young cowbirds. Nest site is in a low shrub, usually in a vertical fork less than 5' above the ground. Nest (built by both sexes) is a compact open cup of plant fibers, grass, weeds, strips of bark, spiderwebs, plant down, and other items, lined with softer materials such as fine plant down, feathers, and animal hair.
Climate Vulnerability
Conservation Status
Although many nesting attempts fail because of cowbirds, numbers of this species seem to be holding up well.
Climate Threats Facing the Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.