BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER. 



751. Polloptila ccerulea. ^Yn inches. 



Forehead black; tail black with white edges and tips 

 to the outer ones. 



Their food is chiefly insects, which they are very ex- 

 pert in catching, taking them on the wing with great 

 celerity. Tlieir movements are all very rapid, flitting 

 from one part of a tree to another, but usually among 

 the upper branches. Their nests are among the most 

 beautiful of bird architecture, even surpassing that of 

 the Hummingbird. 



Song-. — Sweet, but very faint. 



Nest. — Situated on horizontal limbs of trees at me- 

 dium heights; made of plant fibres, woolly substances 

 iand cobwebs, adorned with handsome lichens; the walls 

 are very high and thick, the bird sitting so low inside 

 that only her tail is visible; the four or five eggs are 

 bluish white specked with reddish brown (.56 x .44). 



Range. — Eastern U. S., breeding north to New Jersey 

 and Illinois. 



