{"id":3553,"date":"2012-02-28T23:43:18","date_gmt":"2012-02-29T05:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/earbirding.com\/blog\/?p=3553"},"modified":"2016-11-23T09:51:03","modified_gmt":"2016-11-23T15:51:03","slug":"identifying-black-capped-gnatcatchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/earbirding.com\/blog\/archives\/3553","title":{"rendered":"Identifying Black-capped Gnatcatchers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Black-capped Gnatcatcher, California Gulch, AZ, 5\/16\/2009. Photo courtesy of John Schwarz, Birdspix.com (click for link). This photo was taken only three days after my recordings from the same location, so it may be of the same individual.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Just 30 years ago, the dapper Black-capped Gnatcatcher was ultra-rare north of the Mexican border.\u00a0 Today it can be found with some regularity in decent numbers in several different locations in Arizona and New Mexico.\u00a0 But separating it from the more numerous Blue-gray Gnatcatchers can be a real challenge<\/a>, especially in winter, when the males don’t sport their namesake caps.<\/p>\n

Voice is a key field mark, but good descriptions and recordings of Black-capped Gnatcatcher vocalizations have until recently been in short supply, and confusion about the vocal differences between eastern and western Blue-gray Gnatcatchers<\/a> has compounded the issue.\u00a0 Add Black-tailed<\/em> Gnatcatcher to the mix, plus a dash of the genus-wide tendency to say unpredictable things, and you’ve got a recipe for confusion.<\/p>\n

We’ll try to alleviate some of that confusion today.<\/p>\n

Black-capped Gnatcatcher whines<\/h4>\n

The single best way to identify a Black-capped Gnatcatcher is by listening for one of its most common calls, a distinctive polyphonic overslurred whine that reminds some people of a kitten’s meow:<\/p>\n

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Male Black-capped Gnatcatcher, California Gulch, AZ, 5\/13\/2009.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nhttp:\/\/earbirding.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/BCGNmew9_CalGulchAZ-NDP2009-12-24.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

This typical version of the call is strikingly similar to the distinctive mew of the California Gnatcatcher<\/a>, but California is not found in the same regions as Black-capped.\u00a0 Of course, Black-capped calls are also variable.\u00a0 Here’s a rather odd version:<\/p>\n

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Black-capped Gnatcatcher call (variant with upslurred ending), Alamos, Sonora, Mexico, 7\/3\/2010.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nhttp:\/\/earbirding.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/BCGNmew4upslAtEnd_ElPedregalSonMX-NDP2010-12-78-ii.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

And here’s a downslurred variant:<\/p>\n

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Black-capped Gnatcatcher call (downslurred variant), Alamos, Sonora, Mexico, 6\/26\/2010.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nhttp:\/\/earbirding.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/BCGNmewDowns5_ElPedregalMX-NDP2010-07-35.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

(Here’s another downslurred example<\/a> for good measure.)<\/p>\n

Beware the Blue-grays!<\/h4>\n

Not only is Blue-gray the gnatcatcher that looks<\/em> most like Black-capped, it’s also the one that can sound<\/em> most similar — especially the western population.\u00a0 As we saw in the last post<\/a>, the simple song of western Blue-grays is composed of overslurred whiny notes.\u00a0 Usually the overslurred whines of Blue-grays are organized into short series during bouts of the “simple song,” while the similar notes of Black-capped are often (but not always) given singly.<\/p>\n

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