Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesBlue-gray Gnatcatcher
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 sound
Breeding 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, 2017Similar SpeciesCalifornia Gnatcatcher
Female
California Gnatcatchers have very little white on the underside of their tails unlike Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, which have have white outer tail feathers making the tail look white from below.
© Michael Todd / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, May 02, 2014Similar SpeciesBlack-tailed Gnatcatcher
Breeding male
The underside of the tail on Black-tailed Gnatcatchers appears mostly black with small white circles, whereas it appears mostly white from below on Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Breeding males have a black cap that Blue-grays don't have.
© Arlene Ripley / Macaulay LibraryArizona, April 22, 2017Similar SpeciesGray Vireo
Adult
Gray Vireos are very active like gnatcatchers, but they are larger, thicker-bodied birds with a fairly thick, gray bill compared to the gnatcatcher’s thin, black bill.
© Brian Johnson / Macaulay LibraryArizona, April 30, 2016Similar SpeciesPlumbeous Vireo
Adult
Plumbeous Vireos, are bulkier than gnatcatchers, and typically forage slowly and methodically rather than the gnatcatcher’s quick, flitting movements. Plumbeous Vireos also have 2 wingbars that Blue-gray Gnatcatchers lack.
© William Higgins / Macaulay LibraryArizona, January 17, 2017Similar SpeciesGolden-crowned Kinglet
Adult male
Golden-crowned Kinglets have wingbars, a white eyebrow, and a short tail, whereas Blue-gray Gnatcatchers have plain wings, a plain face, and a long expressive tail.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, December 05, 2016Similar SpeciesRuby-crowned Kinglet
Adult male
Ruby-crowned Kinglets have wingbars that Blue-gray Gnatcatchers lack. They also have a shorter tail and a bolder eyering than Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers.
© Paul Jacyk 🦉 / Macaulay LibraryOhio, April 04, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Gnatcatchers(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Polioptilidae)
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