Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Breeding male
Tiny, slim songbird with a thin, straight bill, and a long tail. Gray overall with a mostly black tail. Breeding males have a black cap.
© Patrick Vaughan | Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, March 22, 2017Female
Tiny songbird with a thin bill and long tail. Females are grayish above and whitish below. Their tail is mostly black with white tips on the outer tail feathers that are visible in flight and from underneath when perched.
© Moe Bertrand | Macaulay LibraryArizona, January 10, 2016Breeding male
Quickly hops from branch to branch in search for insects among desert trees and shrubs.
© Larry Arbanas | Macaulay LibraryArizona, May 01, 2006Not all videos have soundNonbreeding male
Small and dainty with a small bill and long tail. Grayish above and white below. Note black line above the eye on nonbreeding males.
© Jim Scott | Macaulay LibraryArizona, January 24, 2017Breeding male
Breeding males have a black cap. Note the white ovals on an otherwise black tail.
© Arlene Ripley | Macaulay LibraryArizona, April 22, 2017Breeding male
Found in thorny scrublands featuring mesquite, creosote bush, ocotillo, and cactus in southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico.
© Larry Arbanas | Macaulay LibraryArizona, May 06, 2006Not all videos have soundFemale
Small energetic bird with an expressive tail. The tail is mostly black except for white spots on the outer tail feathers. Those white edges form ovals on a closed tail as seen from beneath.
© Jay McGowan | Macaulay LibraryArizona, July 30, 2016Nonbreeding male
Tiny bird that flits from desert shrub to desert shrub twitching its tail side to side and up and down. Nonbreeding males have a thin black line over the eye.
© Joan Gellatly | Macaulay LibraryArizona, January 03, 2016Breeding male
Tiny grayish songbird with a black tail that it often flicks. This video has no audio.
© Timothy Barksdale | Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, February 01, 1997Not all videos have soundHabitat
Found in desert scrub with ocotillo, prickly pear, cholla, and mesquite as well as washes densely lined with creosote and salt bush.
© Jay Watson | Macaulay LibraryArizona, April 02, 2017