KINGLETS, ETC.: WESTERN GNATCATCHER 583 
KINGLETS, GNATCATCHERS, etc.: Family Sylviidae 
The American representatives of this large Old World family are 
easily recognized by their small size, usually five inches or less; slender 
bill, more or less notched or even hooked at tip; ten primaries, the 
first short; and greenish or bluish coloration. 
GNATCATCHERS: Subfamily Polioptilinae 
WESTERN GNATCATCHER: Polioptila caerulea obscura Ridgway 
Description. — Length: 4-5.5 inches, wing 2-2.2, tail 2-2.2. Adult male: Upper- 
parts bluish gray, forehead and sides of crown, black, making a U-shaped mark; 
wings slaty, with pale gray edgings; upper tail coverts and tail black, the lateral 
tail feathers largely white; underparts white, 
washed with bluish gray. Adult female: 
Similar, but duller, and without black on head. 
Young: Similar to adult female butupperparts 
brownish gray and texture of plumage looser. 
Comparisons. —The two gnatcatchers 
found in New Mexico are easily distin¬ 
guished by their head markings, the Western 
having only a U-shaped black mark, the 
Plumbeous having the whole crown glossy 
black. (See p. 584.) 
Range. —Breeds in Sonoran Zones from 
Siskiyou County,California, southern Nevada, 
southern Utah, and Colorado south to Pecos 
River, Texas, Guanajuato, Mexico, and Cape 
region of Lower California; winters from 
southern California and southern Arizona to 
Puebla, Morelos, Colima, and Cape San Lucas. 
State Records. —The middle altitudes of New Mexico are occupied in summer 
by the Western Gnateatcher, which breeds east to Apache (Anthony); Silver City 
and the neighboring Pinos Altos Mountains (Fisher); [Black Range, about 0,300 feet 
(Ligon, 1916-1918)]; and to the valley of the Rio Grande at Rinconada (Surber). 
It breeds commonly in the San Luis Mountains (Mearns); Cooney (Barrell); at 
Fort Wingate, 7,000 feet (Hollister); and eggs were found on June 16, 1907, at Ship- 
rock, 5,000 feet (Gilman). [It is frequently seen in pairs or small flocks in the Santa 
Fe region on the pinyon flats in May and June, and two pairs have been found nesting 
(Jensen). A nest with four slightly incubated eggs was found 2 miles west of Chlor¬ 
ide at 6,250 feet, May 27, 1917 (Ligon).] It thus seems to be confined in the breeding 
season to the altitude of 5,000-7,000 feet. A single specimen was taken June 15, 
1903, at Montoya, 4,700 feet (Bailey). 
After the nesting season, it was taken August 9, 1905, at Laguna, 5,800 feet 
(Hollister); August 13, 1904, at 8,000 feet in the Arroyo Hondo (Gaut); August 20, 
1906, at the mouth of Santa Clara Canyon, 7,000 feet (Bailey); was common August 
24-30, 1905, at Isleta; fairly common September 18-20 at Burley (Hollister); and 
was not rare August 1, 1908, in the Animas Mountains from the oaks at 5,800 feet 
to the pines of the summit at 8,000 feet (Goldman). 
Its arrival in spring was noted at Apache April 1, 1886 (Anthony); Organ Moun¬ 
tains, April 1, 1903 (Metcalf); Silver City, April 22, 1884 (Marsh); Fort Webster, 
April 12 (Henry); and Rinconada April 26, 1904 (Surber).—W. W. Cooke. 
From Handbook of Western Birds 
Fig. 101. Gnatcatchers ( Polioptila 
caerulea caerulea) 
Vivacious, talkative little home 
makers 
