Polioptila caerulea
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The blue-gray gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) is a very small gnatcatcher native to North America. It is 10–13 cm (3.9–5.1 in) in length, 6.3 in (16 cm) in wingspan, and weighing only 5–7 g (0.18–0.25 oz). Adult males are blue-gray on the upperparts with white underparts, slender dark bill, and a long black tail edged in white. Females are less blue, while juveniles are greenish-gray. Both sexes have a white eye ring.
The blue-gray gnatcatcher's breeding habitat includes open deciduous woods and shrublands in southern Ontario, the eastern and southwestern United States, and Mexico. Though gnatcatcher species are common and increasing in number while expanding to the northeast, it is the only one to breed in Eastern North America. They migrate to the southern United States, Mexico, northern Central America (Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras), Cuba, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Cayman Islands.
Blue-gray gnatcatchers prefer humid areas with large leaves, woodlands, and more open sandy areas with sparse trees where they mainly eat insects, insect eggs, and spiders. The males often work to build... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 7 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 8 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 10 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center and Woods Garden | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher sighting in Big Cypress National Preserve on a given day, based on 2,009 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 10th most-seen of the 199 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September and November–January
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in Big Cypress National Preserve on a given day, against about 40% in June, the lowest month.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-gray Gnatcatcher sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 40
Of the 40 parks where we can rate Blue-gray Gnatcatcher sightings, Big Cypress National Preserve ranks 2nd at about 60%. The best odds are in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park (Mexico, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher that you can see in Big Cypress National Preserve (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are American Crow (about 80%), Palm Warbler (about 50%) and Northern Mockingbird (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Big Cypress National Preserve (2,009 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
