466 
KINGLETS, GNATCATCHERS, ETC. 
compact, made of leaves, feathers, and plant fibers, and decorated with 
lichens. Eggs: 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. 
751a. P. c. obscura Ridgw. 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 
gray 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 fouquiera 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 californica 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 
Fig. 596. 
