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Family: Sylviidae, Old World Warblers and Gnatcatchers
Description 4 1/2 -5". A tiny bird. Gray above, paler below. Male has black crown during summer that extends below eyes. Long black tail, with little white on outermost feathers. Winter male, female, and juveniles duller. Similar to Black-tailed Gnatcatcher but underparts grayer, and much less white in tail. Best identified by voice and range.
Habitat Deserts and arid country; dry washes in the low desert.
Nesting 3 or 4 pale blue, spotted eggs in a small, smooth cup nest placed in mesquite or other desert bush or a low tree.
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Range Resident in southwestern California.
Voice Similar to calls of the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (not the Black-tailed), but more prolonged and cat-like.
Discussion This newly recognized species is similar to the Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, but the ranges of the two do not overlap. The Coastal California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica ) is the subspecies that lives in the United States; the other two subspecies live in Baja California, Mexico.
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