Birds of the World

    PASSERIFORMES: Polioptilidae (Gnatcatchers)  
Genus: Polioptila (18 species)


White-lored Gnatcatcher
White-lored Gnatcatcher (Polioptila albiloris vanrossemi) Male
Range: MA: w Mexico to Costa Rica
Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico
  Male, breeding plumage.
   
Photograph by Nigel Voaden   © All Rights Reserved.

White-lored Gnatcatcher
White-lored Gnatcatcher (Polioptila albiloris albiloris) Male
Range: MA: w Mexico to Costa Rica
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
Range: MA: n Yucatán Pen. (se Mexico)
Yucatan, Mexico  
   
Photograph by Edward Boyd   © All Rights Reserved.

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

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Inambari Gnatcatcher (Polioptila attenboroughi)
Range: SA: sw Amazonian Brazil
   



White-browed Gnatcatcher
White-browed Gnatcatcher (Polioptila bilineata brodkorbi) Male
Range: MA, SA: s Mexico to nw Peru
Belize  
   
Photograph by Danny Bales   © All Rights Reserved.

White-browed Gnatcatcher
White-browed Gnatcatcher (Polioptila bilineata) Female
Range: MA, SA: s Mexico to nw Peru
Turrucares, Alajuela, Costa Rica  
   
Photograph by Jorge Obando Gutierrez   © Copyrighted, All Rights Reserved.


Blue-grey Gnatcatcher
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea caerulea)
Range: NA, MA: se Canada to Nicaragua
Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area, Florida, United States  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


California Gnatcatcher
California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica)
Range: NA, MA: sw USA and nw Mexico
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).

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Iquitos Gnatcatcher (Polioptila clementsi)
Range: SA: ne Peru
   



Masked Gnatcatcher
Masked Gnatcatcher (Polioptila dumicola)
Range: SA: c, se
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Cláudio D. Timm     Copyright and usage info

Masked Gnatcatcher
Masked Gnatcatcher (Polioptila dumicola) Male
Range: SA: c, se
Palmar National Park, Argentina  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


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Rio Negro Gnatcatcher (Polioptila facilis)
Range: SA: nw Amazonian Brazil
   


A nondescript grey gnatcatcher, male and female similar, lighter underneath, and with black tail.

Guianan Gnatcatcher
Guianan Gnatcatcher (Polioptila guianensis)
Range: SA: e Venezuela, the Guianas and n Brazil
Manaus, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Joe Tobias   © All Rights Reserved.

One of several split from the Tropical Gnatcatcher, but all very similar. Note all white undertail and broken eye ring. Found north of the Amazon river.

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Creamy-bellied Gnatcatcher (Polioptila lactea)
Range: SA: e Paraguay, ne Argentina and s Brazil
   


Yellower than other gnatcatchers.

Cuban Gnatcatcher
Cuban Gnatcatcher (Polioptila lembeyei)
Range: NA: Cuba
Cayo Romano, Cuba  
   
Photograph by Charles J. Sharp/Sharp Photography     Copyright and usage info


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Maranon Gnatcatcher (Polioptila maior)
Range: SA: n Peru
   



Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher (Polioptila melanura) Male
Range: NA, MA: sw USA and n Mexico
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
Range: NA, MA: sw USA and nw, w Mexico
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
Range: NA, MA: sw USA and nw, w Mexico
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.

Para Gnatcatcher
Para Gnatcatcher (Polioptila paraensis)
Range: SA: se Amazonian Brazil
Pouso Alegre, Mato Grosso, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Bruno Conjeaud   © All Rights Reserved.


Tropical Gnatcatcher
Tropical Gnatcatcher (Polioptila plumbea) Male
Range: SA: c, e Colombia to Peru and ne Brazil
Los Flamencos Wildlife Sanctuary, Camarones, La Guajira, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Tropical Gnatcatcher
Tropical Gnatcatcher (Polioptila plumbea) Female
Range: SA: c, e Colombia to Peru and ne Brazil
Camarones, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Slate-throated Gnatcatcher
Slate-throated Gnatcatcher (Polioptila schistaceigula)
Range: MA, SA: Panama to Ecuador
Río Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha province, Ecuador  
   
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas)   © All Rights Reserved.



© 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