BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER. 



751. Tolioptila cccrulea. 4% 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. Their 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 

 and 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. 



