Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

About the Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

A slim, long-tailed sprite of the desert, the Black-tailed Gnatcatcher is blue-gray above and pale below, forever flicking its tail to flash the black underside edged in white. In breeding season the male sports a neat black cap; in winter he loses it and looks much like the female.

These tiny birds are constantly active, working through desert scrub and mesquite in search of small insects and spiders, keeping in touch with a scratchy, rasping call. Pairs stay together on territory year-round, threading through the thorny tangles where they nest.

In Texas the Black-tailed Gnatcatcher is a resident of the arid Trans-Pecos and South Texas brush country, favoring the driest, thorniest scrub - a harder bird to catch up with than its widespread Blue-gray cousin.

A note from behind the lens: their nonstop motion is the challenge. Follow a calling pair, learn the low perches they favor along their route, and let them come to you - a still moment on a sunlit twig against a clean desert background is worth the wait.