THO ONE of the sweetest singers of the southland its notes are so weak — have so little carrying power — that one may pass in spring thru woodland resonant with songs of mating birds and never suspect that these little Graycoats are among the most abundant feathered inhabitants of the region. When curiosity brings one into view from the screening leaf canopy, the observer is likely to think a miniature Mockingbird is looking him over, so closely do they resemble their larger cousins. Many kinds of birds maintain a discreet silence when near their nests but not the Gnatcatchers! Sometimes males will exercise their vocal powers to the utmost within a few feet of the brooding females. On more than one occasion I have watched a male singing with might and main while taking his turn at housekeeping on the eggs. —Pearson.
Southeastern United States. Breeds in Lower Austral and Carolinian zones from Eastern Nebraska, southern Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario, southwestern Pennsylvania, Maryland and southern New Jersey south to southern Texas and central Florida. Winters from Gulf States and northern Florida, southward.