Birds of Mexico

    PASSERIFORMES: Polioptilidae (Gnatcatchers)  
Genus: Polioptila (7 species, 17 worldwide)


White-lored Gnatcatcher
White-lored Gnatcatcher (Polioptila albiloris vanrossemi) Male
Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico
  Male, breeding plumage.
   
Photograph by Nigel Voaden   © All Rights Reserved.

White-lored Gnatcatcher
White-lored Gnatcatcher (Polioptila albiloris albiloris) Male
Playa Azul, Tarcoles, Costa Rica
  Male, non-breeding plumage.
   
Photograph by Jorge Obando Gutierrez   © Copyrighted, All Rights Reserved.

Compare to Tropical Gnatcatcher and White-browed Gnatcatcher. Female is like non-breeding male, but with grey instead of black.

Yucatan Gnatcatcher
Yucatan Gnatcatcher (Polioptila albiventris) Male ENDEMIC
Yucatan, Mexico  
   
Photograph by Edward Boyd   © All Rights Reserved.

Split from the White-lored Gnatcatcher. Whiter underneath and with shorter tail (HBW).

White-browed Gnatcatcher
White-browed Gnatcatcher (Polioptila bilineata brodkorbi) Male
Belize  
   
Photograph by Danny Bales   © All Rights Reserved.

White-browed Gnatcatcher
White-browed Gnatcatcher (Polioptila bilineata) Female
Turrucares, Alajuela, Costa Rica  
   
Photograph by Jorge Obando Gutierrez   © Copyrighted, All Rights Reserved.


Blue-grey Gnatcatcher
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea caerulea)
Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area, Florida, United States  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


California Gnatcatcher
California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica)
California, United States  
   
Photograph by Dominic Sherony     Copyright and usage info

Similar to Black-capped Gnatcatcher and Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, and best identified by range (only found in California and Baja California).

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher (Polioptila melanura) Male
Sweetwater Wetlands, Tuscon, Arizona,  
   
Photograph by Mick Thompson/Eastside Audubon     Copyright and usage info

Best identified by voice. Black-tailed has all black tail except for white tips on undertail, and edges of outer two feathers.

Black-capped Gnatcatcher
Black-capped Gnatcatcher (Polioptila nigriceps restricta) Male
Patagonia Lake, Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States  
   
Photograph by Alan Schmierer   Image has been placed in the Public Domain.

Black-capped Gnatcatcher
Black-capped Gnatcatcher (Polioptila nigriceps restricta) Female
Madera Canyon, Arizona, United States  
   
Photograph by Andy Reago     Copyright and usage info

Best identified by voice. To differentiate from Black-tailed Gnatcatcher look at undertail, which is mostly white.


© Tom Friedel - All Rights Reserved, except for images and data otherwise noted.       Colombia       Panama       Ecuador       Costa Rica       Mexico
Experimental sites:       Peru       Venezuela       The World       Brazil       Bolivia
Really Experimental sites:       Guyana       Cuba