Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Polioptila melanura
Gnatcatchers (Polioptilidae) · Passeriformes (Passeriformes)
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Often mixed up with
In quizzes, players most often confuse Black-tailed Gnatcatcher with these birds— either this species was picked by mistake, or the other way around.
| Species | Mix-ups |
|---|---|
| Blue-grey Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea | 7 |
| Black-capped Gnatcatcher Polioptila nigriceps | 3 |
| American Kestrel Falco sparverius | 1 |
| Greater Pewee Contopus pertinax | 1 |
| Warbling Vireo Vireo gilvus | 1 |
Family
The gnatcatchers are a family of small passerine birds in the family Polioptilidae. The 20 species occur in North and South America (except for the far south and the high Andean regions). Most species of this mainly tropical and subtropical group are resident, but the blue-grey gnatcatcher of the United States and southern Canada migrates south in winter.
Order
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin passer 'sparrow' and formis '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their toes (three pointing forward and one back), which facilitates perching. With more than 140 families and some 6,500 identified species, Passeriformes is the largest order of birds and one of the most diverse clades of terrestrial vertebrates, representing 60% of …