BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER
751. Polioptila cærulea. 4½ inches
Forehead black; tail black with white edges and tips to the outer ones.
Their food is chiefly insects, which they are very expert in catching, taking them on the wing with great celerity. Their movements are all very rapid, flitting from one part of a tree to another, but usually among the upper branches. Their nests are among the most beautiful of bird architecture, even surpassing that of the [Hummingbird].
Song.—Sweet, but very faint.
Nest.—Situated on horizontal limbs of trees at medium heights; made of plant fibres, woolly substances and cobwebs, adorned with handsome lichens; the walls are very high and thick, the bird sitting so low inside that only her tail is visible; the four or five eggs are bluish white specked with reddish brown (.56 × .44).
Range.—Eastern U. S., breeding north to New Jersey and Illinois.
