Gnatcatcher WESTERN BIRDS 



glad to rest after this great exertion. Again in the 

 afternoon, about 5:30 o'clock, a young bird left the 

 nest. Standing on the rim, he fluttered his wings twice, 

 as if trying to get up courage, and then the third time 

 he flew out onto a twig, perhaps six inches from his home. 

 This time, as before, the stay was a short one, the bird 

 hurrying back to the nest, as in the case of the morning 

 trial. 



And so, all at home, we were obliged to leave them, 

 but we were glad to know that, contrary to most nest- 

 lings, they returned to the nest after having once left it. 



GENUS POLIOPTILA: PLUMBEOUS 

 GNATCATCHER. 



Plumbeous Gnatcatcher: Polioptila plumbea. 



SUBFAMILY— GNATCATCHERS. 



From southeastern California, southern Nevada, cen- 

 tral Arizona, west central New Mexico, and the Rio 

 Grande Valley, south, is found the Plumbeous Gnat- 

 catcher, which differs from the Western chiefly in having 

 the top of the head a glossy blue-black, and the inner 

 web of the outer tail feather tipped with white; the 

 female and young are similar but lack the black cap. 

 It differs from the Black-tailed in having the outer web 

 entirely white, the black stripe being missing. Surely 

 a small thing to make the difference, and one that will 

 require a strong glass and quick observation to differ- 

 entiate. However, the location of the bird will help 

 in the identification, it being abundant in Texas, rather 

 than farther west. 



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