WESTERN BIRDS Gnatcatcher 



large prototype, but is possessed of so little volume as 

 to be inaudible unless one is quite near the singer. His 

 characteristic call note — a rather sudden ting, like the 

 twang of a banjo string — can be heard at a greater dis- 

 tance." 



GENUS POLIOPTILA: WESTERN 

 GNATCATCHER. 



Western Gnatcatcher: Polioptila ccerulea obscura. 

 SUBFAMILY— GNATCATCHERS. 



This bird resembles its eastern cousin, Blue-gray, the 

 chief difference being that it is duller in coloring, the 

 black line over the eye of male being less pronounced, 

 and the white of outer shaft of outer tail feather, more 

 restricted. 



It is found nesting from Siskiyou County, California, 

 southern Nevada, southern Utah, and Colorado, south; 

 wintering from southern California, and southern Ari- 

 zona, south. It is fond of mountain canyons and brush- 

 covered foothills for nesting, but wanders down into the 

 valleys during the winter months, where its nasal tzee, 

 tzee, tzee, may frequently be heard. In their best plum- 

 age the birds are often quite blue on upper parts which 

 will help the novice in their identification, no other simi- 

 lar sized bird having this hue. 



One July I came upon a nest of one of these Western 

 Gnatcatchers in a little canyon in the Sierra Madre 

 Mountains in Los Angeles County. It was placed about 

 ten feet from the ground in the upright crotch of a holly 

 bush which had grown tall like a tree. It was a small, 

 dainty cup, made of fine bark and fibers which just 

 matched the gray crotch, and was in plain sight, though 

 shaded by overhanging leaves. 



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