TUBDID^ —POLIOPTILINjE : GNAT-CATCHERS. 
261 
1 1 . POLIOP'TILA. (Gr. noXios, poUos, hoary ; tttIXov, ptilon, a feather ; the primaries being 
edged with whitish.) Gnat-catchers. Tarsi scutellate. Toes very short, the lateral only 
about half as long as the tarsus ; outer a little longer than the inner. First quill spuri- 
ous, about half as long as the second. Wings rounded, not longer than the graduated tail, the 
feathers of which widen toward their rounded ends. Bill shorter than head, straight, broad 
and depressed at base, rapidly narrowing 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; bluish-ash, paler or 
white below ; tail black and white. Delicate little woodland birds, peculiar to America, not 
over 5 inches long; migratory, insectivorous, very active and sprightly, with sharp squeaking 
notes. J , . • 
Analysts of Species. 
(f Forehead and line over eye black ; outer tail-feather white coeriUea 36 
J" Whole crown black ; outer web of outer tail-feather only edged with white melanura 37 
(f Line over eye black ; outer web of outer tail-feather white plumhea 38 
36. p. coerul'ea. (Lat. coeridea, 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 
white. Bill and feet black. Length 4.50- 
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 
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. 
Nest a model of bird-architecture, compact- 
walled and contracted at the brim, elegantly 
stuccoed with lichens, fixed to slender twigs at a varying height from 10 to 50 or 60 feet; eggs 
4-5, about 0.60 X 0.45, whitish, fully speckled with reddish and umber-brown and lilac. 
37. F\ji[iela^jm^ (Gr. fxeXas, melas, black ; ovpa, oura, tail. Fig. 134, a, c.) Black-capped 
Gnat-catcher. $ : Like P. cceridea, 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 M^hite on the tail. Texas to South and 
Lower California. 
38. p . pium'bea. (Lat. plumbeus, plumbeous, lead-colored. Fig. 134, d.) Plumbeous Gnat- 
catcher. ^ , adult : Upper parts like those of P. ccerulea, but duUer and more grayish ; no 
bjack 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. coeridea. 9 : Like 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. 
Fig. 134. — a, head of Polioptila melanura ; b, of P. 
coerulea ; c, tail of P. melanura ; d, of P. plumhea ; all 
nat. size. 
