California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica) | Details

California Gnatcatcher Polioptila californica

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Least Concern
2018	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Species attributes

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	6 g

Range

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	272,000 km²	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

Population

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	80000 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2019
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	-
Generation length	2.04 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population is estimated to number 80,000 mature individuals (Partners in Flight 2019). This number, however, excludes subspecies pontilis; the population is therefore likely larger than this estimate.

Trend justification: The species is undergoing a small decline (Partners in Flight 2019).

Country/territory distribution

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Mexico	extant	native	yes
USA	extant	native	yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 500 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	(max) 700 m

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: California Gnatcatcher Polioptila californica. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/california-gnatcatcher-polioptila-californica on 21/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 21/12/2024.