466 KINGLETS, GNATCATCHERS, ETC. 



compact, made of leaves, feathers, and plant fibers, and decorated with 

 lichens. Eygs : 4 or 5, pale greenish white, spotted with reddish brown, 

 lilac, and slate, confluent around larger end. 



The gnatcatchers are active, high-strung little sprites, never still a 

 minute, but going about whipping their tails from side to side, cock- 

 ing their heads over to look up or gaze down, and crying tsang', 

 tsang', here I am, here' I am, with nervous emphasis, talking to 

 themselves when no one is by. They are most entertaining birds to 

 watch, always saying or doing something original, jaunty individual 

 scraps, full of their quaint airs and graces. 



With all their airs they are most painstaking, skillful builders, and 

 parents who know no fear, flying boldly at the big birds who molest 

 them and driving them off with good set blows. 



75 la. P. C. obscura Eidgw. WESTERN GNATCATCHER. 



Similar to ccerulea, but darker, less blue above, and black superciliary 

 less distinct ; white on tail feathers more restricted. 



Distribution. Western Texas and New Mexico to Arizona, California, 

 Lower California, and Mexico. 



Nest. As described by Nelson, in a bush 3 feet from the ground, made 

 of shreds of bark lined with finer shreds and feathers. Eggs : 4 or 5, 

 marked with reddish brown and purplish, most heavily around larger end. 



752. Polioptila plumbea Baird. PLUMBEOUS GNATCATCHER. 

 Adult male. Top of head glossy blue black, in sharp contrast to light 



gray of back ; tail black, outer tail feather with 

 outer web entirely white, inner web tipped with 

 _____^ white ; under parts white, washed with bluish 



Fie 596 S TSL J on sides. Adult female and young : simi- 



. lar, but without black on head, and gray of 

 back sometimes washed with brownish. Length : 4.25-4.60, wing 1.90-2.00, 

 tail 2.15-2.25. 



Remarks. The plumbeous and black-tailed gnatcatchers may be dis- 

 tinguished by the outer web of the outer tail feather, which in the black- 

 tailed is black edged with white ; in the plumbeous, wholly white. 



Distribution. Breeds in Lower Sonoran zone from western Texas to the 

 eastern edge of the Mohave Desert ; south along eastern coast of Lower 

 California. 



Nest. One near Terlingua, Texas, in f ouquiera bush, made of gray 

 fibers of wood and bark, wound with spider web, and lined with cactus 

 wool. Eggs : 2, pale blue, spotted with brown, most thickly around larger 

 end. 



The small bluish figure of plumbea is a familiar sight in the brushy 

 canyon mouths of the Guadalupe Mountains in Texas and in the 

 orchard-like juniper and pinon pine tops of the mountains. 



753. Polioptila calif ornica Brewst. BLACK-TAILED GNAT- 



CATCHER. 



Adult male. Crown black ; rest of upper parts dark gray ; tail black, 

 outer feather with outer web black edged with white, and inner web narrowly 



