TROPIC and NEAR-TROPIC BIRD COLLECTION

Solitary Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Blue-gray Gnatcatcher-Polioptila caerulea Blue-gray Gnatcatcher-Polioptila caerulea, Family Sylviidae. Looks like a minature mockingbird. Today was a wonderful birding day--warm temps, clear skies and excellent lighting. These birds are very "flitty." I was lucky to capture this individual at Gilmore Ponds. CLICK HERE to view a QUICKTIME Movie of Gnatcatchers building a nest at the Shaker Trace Wetlands in SW Ohio. Here is a QUICKTIME SLIDESHOW of these beautiful birds building a nest at the Shaker Trace Wetlands in SW Ohio (Photo: May 9, 2004, Gilmore Ponds, Canon 10D, EF 400mm f/5.6L USM) "Only species of gnatcatcher common in eastern US. Absent in Winter." For More info: http://www.nenature.com/BlueGrayGnatcatcher.htm

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Photos Copyright R. Hays Cummins. Authorization required. For permission, contact bigbendwildlands@gmail.com

Sources of species identification and other amazing info include (1) Cornell Lab of Ornithology--a fantastic site; (2)Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Peterson Field Guide Series, Fifth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company; (3) The National Audubon Society's Sibley Guide to Birds and (4) Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Third Edition, National Geographic, Washington, D.C.