Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
(Polioptila caerulea)

Overview

Summary

© John Reaume
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Primarily a species of the southwestern and eastern United States, the small population of the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in Canada is found mainly in southern Ontario and as a rare breeder in Quebec. The Breeding Bird Survey suggests that this species' population has shown a large increase since about 1970, while the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario suggests its range has expanded northward. This population increase and northward range expansion may be related to warming temperatures as a result of global climate change, and re-forestation of former agricultural areas (McCracken 2007).

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

A species that winters primarily in scrubland habitat, it is unlikely that tropical deforestation will have a large negative influence on wintering populations (Ellison 1992). With only a small portion of the North American population in Canada and increasing numbers, there are few conservation concerns for this species in Canada.

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Ellison, W.G. 1992. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Ellison, W.G. 1992. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
• McCracken, J. 2007. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. pp. 426-427 in: Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005. Cadman, M.D., D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. Lepage and A.R. Couturier, Eds. Bird Studies Canada, Environment Canada, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ontario Nature, Toronto, Ontario.