5 2 
BIRDS OF THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 
FAM. SYLVIIDAT 
POLIOPTILA CAERULEA. {Linn) 
Blue-gray Gnat-catcher. 
Winter Plumage, Female. — Above, grayish blue; under parts 
and lores, bluish white; quills edged with bluish gray, becoming 
whiter on the tertials ; two outer tail-feathers white, becoming black 
at the base, and extending obliquely forward on the inner webs ; 
third tail-feather tipped with white, the others black. 
Adult Male . — With a narrow frontal line of black, extending 
over the eye; otherwise resembles the female. 
Length 4.40, wing 2, tail 2.20, tarsus .70, bill .40. 
This little species is a resident of the Bahamas, although much 
less abundant in summer than in winter, as their numbers become 
greatly augmented during the latter season by migrants from the 
United States. When we arrived at Inagua they were quite abun- 
dant, and evidently breeding; so, being very desirous of procuring 
the eggs of this species, I watched them carefully, and was rewarded 
by finding a nest containing three eggs, on June 1st, the eggs being 
all quite fresh. The nest was a beautiful little structure, built in 
the crotch of a diminutive palm-tree, about four feet from the 
