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Blue-gray Gnatcatcher — Part 2
Adult male--Upper parts bluish gray, a black band on the forehead; tail, middle feathers black, outer one white, the intermediate feathers shading from dark to light gray.
Adult female--Lacks the black on the forehead, but is otherwise similar. Length--4.50.
Breeding Range--From the Southern States northward, on the coast, to Connecticut; of accidental occurrence in Maine, and inland to the Great Lakes.
The nest is a delicately built cup-like structure, about one and a half inches deep inside, and is composed of leaf stems, plant fibre, hair, grass, and thin strips of bark. The lining is of woolly plant substances, and the outside is usually decorated with small pieces of lichen. It is placed either in a crotch or saddled on a branch at from ten to fifty feet from the ground; fifteen or twenty feet is the usual height. The eggs, 4 or 5 in number, are very pale green or blue, with numerous specks and spots of chestnut and brown. Size--.57 x .45.
The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is an energetic, busy little fellow who lives in the woods, usually preferring those that are somewhat damp. He commences building during the month of May, and his dainty nest, which viewed from below resembles a knotty excrescence, is difficult to find.