gnatcatcher

[ nat-kach-er ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

any tiny insect-eating, New World warbler of the genus Polioptila, having a long, mobile tail and a slender bill.

gnatcatcher

/ ˈnætˌkætʃə /

any of various small American songbirds of the genus Polioptila and related genera, typically having a long tail and a pale bluish-grey plumage: family Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers, etc)

First recorded in 1835–45; gnat + catcher

A blue-gray gnatcatcher is drawling somewhere in the leafy treetops.

I had hardly seated myself when the jaunty little gnatcatcher came flying over and lit in an upper branch of the tree.

Perhaps a difference of opinion had arisen on architectural points, and Mrs. Gnatcatcher had taken matters into her own hands.

The only nest like the hummingbird's, and comparable to it in neatness and symmetry, is that of the blue-gray gnatcatcher.

In color, form, proportions and voice, the Gnatcatcher may properly be called 'dainty.'

April 24, 2024gallimaufry

[gal-uh-maw-free ]

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