Gnatwrens and gnatcatchers | Polioptilidae

Muggenvangers | Perlitas

These are very small, slender insect-eaters with a fine, needle-like bill and a long, narrow tail edged with white. The tail is seldom still: it is cocked and swung sideways in short jerks, and the flash of white startles insects out of cover, to be taken in the air with a brief sally. Foraging goes on without pause among the outermost twigs of shrubs and canopies, often while hanging upside down or briefly hovering in place. The sound that gives the birds away first is a thin, nasal, slightly rasping zzzz with which a pair keeps contact all year; the song is a soft, rambling murmur with snatches of imitation in it, audible only at close range. The nest is a small, deep cup built straddling a branch; after disturbance it is taken apart and the material worked into another one, sometimes more than once in a season. Species of dry thorn scrub stay paired throughout the year and take most of their moisture from their prey, while northern birds migrate away.