Blue-gray gnatcatcher
Polioptila caerulea (Linnaeus, 1766)
The blue-gray gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) is a species in the family Polioptilidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 5.8 g to 6.4 g and live up to 4.2 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the blue-gray gnatcatcher
- Weight
- 5.8 g – 6.4 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 4.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 14 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3 – 4.25src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 10.5 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the blue-gray gnatcatcher
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Where does the blue-gray gnatcatcher live?
Not recorded
What is the blue-gray gnatcatcher?
The blue-gray gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) is a very small gnatcatcher native to North America.
From the Wikipedia article “Blue-gray gnatcatcher” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue-gray_gnatcatcher&oldid=1373299778), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the blue-gray gnatcatcher sound like?
Is the blue-gray gnatcatcher endangered?
The blue-gray gnatcatcher is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the blue-gray gnatcatcher classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyPolioptilidae
- genusPolioptila
- SpeciesPolioptila caerulea (Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms Motacilla caerulea, Motacilla grisea
Other names and names in other languages (44)
- Blue-grey flycatcherEnglish
- Blue-grey gnatcatcherEnglish
- Blue-grey gnatcatcherEnglish
- Blue-grey gnatcatcherEnglish
- صائِد البَعوض الرَّماديّ الأزرَقArabic
- صائد البعوض الرمادى الازرقEgyptian Arabic
- agafamosquits cellanegreCatalan
- leskot modrošedýCzech
- Gwybed-ddaliwr LlwydlasWelsh
- Blågrå SnerresmutteDanish
- BlaumückenfängerGerman
- nigrabrova polioptiloEsperanto
- Perlita azulgrisSpanish
- Perlita azul-grisSpanish
- Perlita grisillaSpanish
- RabuitaSpanish
- پشهگیر کبودPersian
- sinisääskikerttuFinnish
- Gobemoucheron gris-bleuFrench
- gobemoucherons gris-bleuFrench
- Ti ChwichwiHaitian Creole
- ברחשית כחלחלהHebrew
- siva mušičarkaCroatian
- kék szúnyogkapóHungarian
- zanzariere blu-grigioItalian
- Pigliamoschini grigiazzurroItalian
- ブユムシクイJapanese
- melsvasis mašalinukasLithuanian
- pelēkais odķērājsLatvian
- Tsʼíʼiiyiyiitsahí łibáhígííNavajo
- Blauwgrijze MuggenvangerDutch
- nordmyggsmettNorwegian
- siwuszka ciemnobrewaPolish
- caça-mosquitos-azuladoPortuguese
- Balança-rabo-azul-cinzentoPortuguese
- balança-rabo-de-sobrancelhasPortuguese
- Голубая комароловкаRussian
- sivuška modráSlovak
- Plavosiva komaricaSerbian
- svartbrynad myggsnappareSwedish
- Gökrengi BitkuşuTurkish
- комароловка сизаUkrainian
- 灰蓝蚋莺Chinese
- 灰藍蚋鶯Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the blue-gray gnatcatcher
Other species in the same genus Polioptila.

Tropical gnatcatcher
Polioptila plumbea

California gnatcatcher
Polioptila californica

Black-tailed gnatcatcher
Polioptila melanura

Masked gnatcatcher
Polioptila dumicola

Cuban gnatcatcher
Polioptila lembeyei

Black-capped gnatcatcher
Polioptila nigriceps
CompareBlue-gray gnatcatcher vs Tropical gnatcatcherBlue-gray gnatcatcher vs California gnatcatcherBlue-gray gnatcatcher vs Black-tailed gnatcatcherBlue-gray gnatcatcher vs Masked gnatcatcher
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the blue-gray gnatcatcher?
An adult blue-gray gnatcatcher weighs 5.8 g – 6.4 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the blue-gray gnatcatcher endangered?
The blue-gray gnatcatcher is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the blue-gray gnatcatcher live?
The blue-gray gnatcatcher has a recorded lifespan of 4.2 years.
What kind of animal is the blue-gray gnatcatcher?
The blue-gray gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) belongs to the family Polioptilidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Blue-gray gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-gray-gnatcatcher
“Blue-gray gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-gray-gnatcatcher.
@misc{blue_gray_gnatcatcher_2026,
title = {Blue-gray gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-gray-gnatcatcher},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}