TUEBID^ —POLIOPTILIN^ : GNAT-CATCHERS. 



261 



POLiIOP'TILiA. (Gr. TToXids, ^oZJos, hoary ; irrikov, ptilon, a feather; the primaries being 

 edged with whitish.) Gnat-catchers. Tarsi scuteUute. Toes very short, the lateral ouly 

 about half as loug as the tarsus ; outer a little longer than the iuuer. First quill spuri- 

 ous, about half as loug as the second. Wings rounded, not longer than the graduated tail, the 

 feathers of which widen toward their rounded ends. Bill shorter tlian head, straight, broad 

 and depressed at base, rapidly uaiTowing to the very slender terminal portion, distinctly 

 notched and hooked at the end — thus Muscicapine in character. Rictus with well-developed 

 bristles. Nostrils entirely exposed. Coloration without bright tints ; bluisli-ash, paler or 

 white below ; tail black and white. Delicate little woodland birds, peculiar to America, not 

 over 5 inclies long; migratory, insectivorous, very active and sprightly, with sharp squeaking 



Analysis of Species. 



(J Forehead and line over eye black ; outer tail-feather white ccerulea 36 



(f Whole crown black ; outer web of outer tail-feather only edged with white melanura 37 



cf Line over eye black ; outer web of outer tail-feather white plumbea 38 



P. coerul'ea. (Lat. ccerulea, cerulean, blue. Figs. 133, 134, 6.) Blue-gray Gnat- 

 catcher. ^, adult: Grayish-blue, bluer on the crown, hoary on the rump, the forehead 

 black, continuous with a black superciliary line. Edges of eyelids white, and above these a 

 slight whitish stripe bordering the black exteriorly. Below white, with a faint plumbeous 

 shade on the breast. Wings dark brown, the outer webs, especially of the inner quills, edged 

 with hoary, and the inner webs of most bor- 

 dered with white. Tail jet-black, the outer 

 feather entirely or mostly white, the next one 



about half white, the third one tipped with ^ v*^r ^^^ -, 



white. Bill and feet black. Length 4.50- '^ "'"^ _^^ tUJta'A^ \ ^ 



5.00; extent 6.25-7.00; wing 2.00-2.20; tail 

 about the same. 9 • Like the ^ , but duller 

 and more grayish-blue above ; the head like 



the back, and without any black. Bill usually _ ,^ ^fJt)=- i 



in part light-colored. U. S. from Atlantic to 

 Pacific, N. to Massachusetts ; breeds through- 

 out its range, and winters on the southern 



border and southward ; abundant in woodland. ^^^ ^^^ _ ^^ ^^^ ^^ Poiioptila melanura .- 6, of P. 

 Nest a model of bird-architecture, compact- carulea; c, tail of P. melanura ; d, of P. plumbea; all 

 walled and contracted at the brim, elegantly °**' ^'''®' 



stuccoed with lichens, fixed to slender tmgs at a varying height from 10 to 50 or 60 feet; eggs 

 4-5, about O.GO X 0.45, whitish, fully speckled with reddish and umber-brown and lilac. 

 P. melanu'ra. (Gr. ^eXas, melas, black ; ovpa, oura, tail. Fig. 134, a, c.) Black-capped 

 Gnat-catcher. <J : Like P. ccerulea, but whole top of head black. White of tail reduced 

 to a minimum ; outer web of the outer feather only edged with white, instead of wholly white ; 

 tip of the inner web, with tip of the next feather, white for a very slight space ; no white on 

 the third feather. Size of the foregoing ; tarsi rather longer, — about 0.70. 9 : No black on 

 the head ; distinguished from 9 ccerulea only by less white on the tail. Texas to South and 

 Lower California. 



P. plum'bea. (Lat. jpZ»w7>ms, plumbeous, lead-colored. Fig. 134, <?.) Plumbeous Gnat- 

 CATCiiER. (J, adult : Upper parts like those of P. ccerulea, but duUer and more grayish ; no 

 black on forehead ; a short black stripe over eye, and below this a white one. Outer tail- 

 feather with the whole outer web and tip white (like the second feather of P. ccerulea) ; next 

 two feathers tipped with white. Size of P. ccerulea. 9 '■ T-'i'^e the $ ; the upper parts still 

 duller, and frequently with a decided brownish shade ; no black over eye ; thus only distin- 

 guished from 9 ccerulea by less white on the tail. Valley of the Gila and Colorado. 



