Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Polioptila melanura

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Polioptila melanura. Photograph taken in the greater Palm Desert area of Riverside County, California, April 2020. Photograph and identification courtesy of Julie McGhee, Oak Hills, California.

The Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Polioptila melanura, is a member of the Polioptilidae Family of Gnatcatchers. They are small in stature. In Mexico they are found in the coastal regions within the Pacific Slope on the East Coast of Baja California and the West Coast of Sonora and within the central highlands in the States of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Nuevo León at elevations between 75 m (250 feet) and 900 m (2,950 feet). From a conservation perspective the Black Gnatcatcher is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are found in arid and semiarid zones of desert motif. They consume insects and small amounts of seasonal fruits and seeds.