Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Polioptila melanura
Photographed by Robert Shantz at Lower Steeple Rock Canyon, Hidalgo County, New Mexico. This male has a distinctly black cap. Females lack the cap, and during the winter months the male's cap fades away.
This little Sonoran Desert bird has a lot of pazazz with its sharply black, white and gray plumage. They seem hyperactive as they flit from twig to twig giving a sharp, raspy call, less cat-like than the similar blue-gray gnatcatcher. The long tail is mostly black - look especially on the underside of the tail (the blue-gray's tail is predominately white underneath). It forages in desert trees and shrubs for small insects.