Mar., xgoi | 
THE CONDOR 
33 
Some Architectural Traits of the Western Gnatcatcher 
{^Polioptila ccBr'Jilea obscnra.) 
By Corydon Chamberlin, Vaelecito, Calif. 
IVith sketches from nature by the author. 
T he few observations on Polioptila 
c. obscura here recorded cannot do 
justice to thisver}^ interesting sub- 
ject and are offered only in lieu of a 
more complete study. Of all the birds 
it has been my lot to make unhappy, T 
cannot think of any one who.se good 
(jualities have appealed to me more 
strongly than the Western Gnatcatcher. 
He is the embodiment of many good 
characteristics: whenever seen he is a 
delight to the eye and his note, if not 
musical, is unique and unmistakable 
and you may lie sure of him whenever 
you hear it. 
On his arrival in this latitude, near 
the finst of April, he adds new life to 
the woods and his tease, tease-e may be 
heard incessantly on every hand. When 
he first appears in his trim “tailor-made” 
suit of black, white and gray he seems 
at once the very personification of 
dandyism and well-bred modesty, but 
no one can accuse him of vanity for he 
forgets his appearance entirely in the 
pursuit of work as he is a model of in- 
dustry. 
Mr. Gnatcatcher is thoroughly domes- 
tic in his nature and usually establishes 
two homes each breeding season. How 
many fake nests he builds or how many 
of his pretty houses are robbed or torn 
up by his enemies I cannot tell. It is 
as an architect principally that I wish 
to dwell on the gnatcatcher and will re- 
turn to this part of the subject further 
on. 
The name gnatcatcher is misleading 
as regards the diet of this species, for I 
have repeatedly seen one tackle a 
butterfly almost as large as himself and 
bag his game, too. I think however 
his food is largel}" made up of the eggs 
and larvae of insects which are found 
on the under-side of leaves and in the 
crevices of bark. I have also seen him 
feed on small flying insects which may 
have Vieen gnats or mosquitoes. 
The bluejay is strongly in evidence 
as an enemy of the gnatcatcher and 
loves to tear the half-finished nest from 
its foundation and sit in the top of the 
tree with it sticking out on the sides of 
his bill like bunches of gray whiskers. 
The gnatcatchers usually resent such 
intrusion, and worry the jaj^ until he 
drops the nest or flies away with a harsh 
mocking cry. 1 have known a pair of 
gnatcatchers to chase a jay from tree to 
tree until he was a safe distance from 
their nest when they would suddenl}' 
di.sappear to be found half an hour later 
in their own tree re.sting and scolding 
softly. 
An unaccountable habit which this 
species has is that of congregating in 
flocks and flying from tree to tree with 
much noi.se and fluttering. I cannot 
imagine anything but a free-for-all cake 
walk that can be compared to this gre- 
garious movement. I have often thought 
at such times that thej^ were driving 
bluejays away for I have always .seen 
jays flying about noiselessly on such 
occasions but I cannot with certainty 
give the cause of such assemblages, for 
they usually broke up when I ap- 
proached the center of disturbance. It 
may however have been merely a choir 
practice or some social function,-who 
knows? 
During the spring of ’95 I first became 
acquainted with the Western Gnat- 
catcher near Lakeport, Lake Co., this 
state. In the latter part of April I ob- 
served them building their nests. All 
of the first nests I found were in small 
white oak trees from six to ten feet 
from the ground. Of the first few nests 
I saw being built none were finally oc- 
cupied on their original site. One pair 
near my camping place moved their 
nest and made it over three times before 
being satisfied to deposit eggs in it. 
Each time that the nest was nearly 
complete, the birds would di.scover a 
