Polioptila caerulea
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher sighting in Pico Bonito National Park on a given day, based on 21 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 189th most-seen of the 271 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and February
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in Pico Bonito National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March to December, the lowest months.
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.
34th of 40
Of the 40 parks where we can rate Blue-gray Gnatcatcher sightings, Pico Bonito National Park ranks 34th at under 5%. The best odds are in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park (Mexico, about 70%), Big Cypress National Preserve (United States, about 60%) and Point Pelee National Park (Canada, about 60%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Pico Bonito National Park (21 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.
