White-lored gnatcatcher

Last updated

White-lored gnatcatcher
White-lored Gnatcatcher.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Polioptilidae
Genus: Polioptila
Species:
P. albiloris
Binomial name
Polioptila albiloris
Polioptila albiloris map.svg

The white-lored gnatcatcher (Polioptila albiloris) is a species of bird in the family Polioptilidae. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. [2]

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The white-lored gnatcatcher was previously considered conspecific with the black-capped gnatcatcher (Polioptila nigriceps). The Yucatan gnatcatcher (P. albiventris) was previously a treated as a subspecies of the white-lored. [3] The white-lored gnatcatcher has two subspecies, the nominate Polioptila albiloris albiloris and P. a. vanrossemi. [2]

Description

The white-lored gnatcatcher is 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long and weighs 6 to 9 g (0.21 to 0.32 oz). The nominate male in breeding plumage has a black cap down to the eyes and including the nape. The rest of the upperparts are bluish gray. The tail is black with white outermost feathers. The throat is white becoming pale bluish gray on the breast and flanks. The female has a dark gray cap and the eponymous white lores and supercilium. The juvenile is similar to the female but has browner upperparts. The male P. a. vanrossemi has a larger black cap and longer wings and tail than the nominate. [3]

Distribution and habitat

The nominate white-lored gnatcatcher is found from central Guatemala south through Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua into northwestern Costa Rica. P. a. vanrossemi is found in Mexico from the southern parts of the states of Michoacán, México, and Puebla south to most of Chiapas. It inhabits arid to semi-arid biomes including scrublands, thorn forest, deciduous woodland, and secondary forest. It shuns the interior of tall woodlands. It is mostly found below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) of elevation. [3]

Behavior

Feeding

The white-lored gnatcatcher's diet is a variety of adult insects, caterpillars, and spiders. It forages mostly by gleaning but will make sallies to catch flying insects. [3]

Breeding

The white-lored gnatcatcher breeds between March and August. Both sexes build the nest, a deep cup of grass and roots held together with spider silk and lined with fine grass, hair, and other soft materials. The clutch size is four. Bronzed (Molothrus aeneus) and brown-headed cowbirds (M. ater) parasitize the nest. [3]

Vocalization

The white-lored gnatcatcher has two songs, a "simple" and a "complex" . It also has a variety of calls, for which see Xeno-canto below. [3]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the white-lored gnatcatcher as being of Least Concern. [1] "Neither of the subspecies are restricted to ecoregions that are considered to be at serious risk". [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-gray gnatcatcher</span> Species of bird

The blue-gray gnatcatcher or blue-grey gnatcatcher is a very small songbird native to North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violet sabrewing</span> Species of hummingbird

The violet sabrewing is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found from Mexico to Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-billed starthroat</span> Species of hummingbird

The long-billed starthroat is a species of hummingbird in the "mountain gems", tribe Lampornithini in subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Mexico, Central America, Trinidad, and all but the four southernmost countries of South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-tailed gnatcatcher</span> Species of bird

The black-tailed gnatcatcher is a small, insectivorous bird which ranges throughout the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is nonmigratory and found in arid desert areas year-round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slaty-tailed trogon</span> Species of bird

The slaty-tailed trogon is a near passerine bird in the family Trogonidae, the quetzals and trogons. It is found in Mexico, throughout Central America, and in Colombia and Ecuador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tropical gnatcatcher</span> Species of bird

The tropical gnatcatcher is a small active insectivorous songbird, which is a resident species throughout a large part of the Neotropics. There are large geographical variations in its voice and plumage, resulting in some populations sometimes being considered separate species, notably the bilineata group as the white-browed gnatcatcher, and the taxon maior as the Marañón gnatcatcher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buff-collared nightjar</span> Species of bird

The buff-collared nightjar or Ridgway's whip-poor-will is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and the U.S. states of Arizona and New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plain-capped starthroat</span> Species of hummingbird

The plain-capped starthroat is a species of hummingbird in the "mountain gems", tribe Lampornithini in subfamily Trochilinae. It is found from Mexico to Costa Rica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-capped gnatcatcher</span> Species of bird

The black-capped gnatcatcher is a small songbird in the family Polioptilidae. It is found in Mexico and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emerald-chinned hummingbird</span>

The emerald-chinned hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canivet's emerald</span> Species of hummingbird

Canivet's emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser ground cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The lesser ground cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the tribe Neomorphini of subfamily Crotophaginae. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific screech owl</span> Species of owl

The Pacific screech owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tody motmot</span> Species of bird

The tody motmot is a species of passerine bird in the motmot family Momotidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Hylomanes. It is found in Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-throated euphonia</span> Species of songbird

The yellow-throated euphonia is a species of songbird in the family Fringillidae. It is found in southeastern Mexico and throughout Central America with its range stretching from Belize south to western Panama. It inhabits primarily both humid and dry regions where it prefers the forest edge, open woodland, and shaded plantations. It has two subspecies, the nominate subspecies Euphonia hirundinaceahirundinacea and Euphonia hirundinacea gnatho. This finch is a small bird with pointed wings and a short bill and short tail. Males of this species have dark glossy blue-black upperparts excluding a yellow forecrown, and bright yellow underparts, while females have olive green upperparts and whitish-gray breast and lower parts. It has a shrill song that alternates between high-pitched and moderately pitched and appears to be able to mimic some calls of other birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-and-white mockingbird</span> Species of bird

The blue-and-white mockingbird is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masked gnatcatcher</span> Species of bird

The masked gnatcatcher is a small songbird in the family Polioptilidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creamy-bellied gnatcatcher</span> Species of bird

The creamy-bellied gnatcatcher is a species of bird in the family Polioptilidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spot-breasted wren</span> Species of bird found in Mexico and Central America

The spot-breasted wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yucatan gnatcatcher</span> Species of bird

The Yucatan gnatcatcher is a species of bird in the family Polioptilidae. It is endemic to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2018). "White-lored Gnatcatcher Polioptila albiloris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (January 2021). "IOC World Bird List (v 11.1)" . Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Atwood, J. L., S. B. Lerman, and A. J. Spencer (2020). White-lored Gnatcatcher (Polioptila albiloris), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg and B. K. Keeney, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whlgna2.01.1 retrieved May 28, 2021