gnatcatcher

American  

[nat-kach-er] / ˈnætˌkætʃ ər /

noun

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

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gnatcatcher British  

/ ˈnætˌkætʃə /

noun

1. 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)

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Etymology

Origin of gnatcatcher

First recorded in 1835–45; gnat + catcher

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gnatcatcher

Fish and Wildlife Service’s military conservation partner of the year for its efforts to support the recovery of several species, including the tidewater goby, coastal California gnatcatcher, the arroyo toad and southern California steelhead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2025

And if it is feeling somewhat cosmopolitan, the blue-gray gnatcatcher goes by its French name - Gobemoucheron gris-bleu.

From Washington Times ● May 12, 2018

The group is concerned about several endangered species that would be affected by prototype and actual wall construction, including the checkerspot butterfly, coastal California gnatcatcher and San Diego fairy shrimp.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2017

To protect a bird called the coastal California gnatcatcher, officials will try to preserve the sage-scrub ecosystem where it lives.

From Time Magazine Archive

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

From In the Catskills Selections from the Writings of John Burroughs by John Burroughs