Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

1/1600s, f5.6,, ISO 2000, Canon EOS-1D X, EF800mm f/5.6L IS USM


The blue-gray gnatcatcher is a very small songbird. The blue-gray gnatcatcher\'s breeding habitat includes open deciduous woods and shrub lands in southern Ontario, the eastern and southwestern United States, and Mexico. Though gnatcatcher species are common and increasing in number while expanding to the northeast, it is the only one to breed in Eastern North America. They build a cup nest similar to a hummingbird\'s on a horizontal tree branch. The incubation period is 13 days for both sexes. Both parents construct the nest and feed the young; they may raise two broods in a season. These birds migrate to the southern United States, Mexico, northern Central America-(Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras), Cuba, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Cayman Islands. They forage actively in trees or shrubs, mainly eating insects, insect eggs and spiders. They may hover over foliage (gleaning), or fly to catch insects in flight (hawking).
Shawnee Forest, Ohio
 
04/21/2015