White-browed Gnatcather

How to find it

Look in many lowland and foothill spots, not only in big parks, since the lumping of the old Tropical Gnatcatcher widened its range. Scan the forest canopy and tall second growth first. At forest edges, check shrub level, where the birds often come down. Trees in clearings and hedgerows are worth a look, because they avoid dark understory. Go through each mixed flock slowly for a small gray bird with a long tail, and rule out honeycreepers by voice first.

How to recognise it

Start with size and shape: a tiny, slim bird, blue-gray above and whitish below.

The tail is long and mostly black, with white outer feathers.

Males show a black cap and a bold white eyebrow.

Females also have a white eyebrow, but the cap is blue-gray and only slightly darker than the back. Many have an irregular black patch behind the eye.

White extends above the eye in both sexes.

Non-breeding males look like females, so a gray-capped bird is not always a female.

What it sounds like

Recording: er-birds, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It is almost always moving. It makes short hops or flights from branch to leaf while hunting insects, and it often cocks its tail up.

In Costa Rica these birds pair up all year, so you will often find two together. They often join mixed flocks of vireos, honeycreepers and similar birds in the forest canopy, which makes every flock worth checking for a small gray bird with a long tail.

Where it lives

Range-wide, it lives in many kinds of tropical and subtropical forest below about 1,200 meters. In the north of its range it uses humid woodland, and in the south it uses dry forest and arid scrub.

In Costa Rica the subspecies superciliaris lives in the Pacific and Caribbean lowlands. The birds usually live in the forest canopy and tall second growth, and often come down to shrub level at forest edges. They avoid dark understory and visit trees in clearings or hedgerows.

Similar birds

The White-lored Gnatcatcher is the Costa Rican lookalike. Its local Spanish name is perlita cabecinegra, and it lives in the northwest on the Pacific slope, in arid scrub, thorn forest and dry forest edges. It avoids interior tall forest. Non-breeding White-lored males and females look alike, both with a gray cap instead of black, so compare carefully and let range and habitat help. Older field guides may list our bird as Tropical Gnatcatcher (White-browed group).

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Perlita Frentiblanca is the current Costa Rican name, and the older Perlita Tropical (grupo bilineata) still appears in older Costa Rican guides. Regional books from other countries may use perlita cejiancha, perlita cejas blancas (Mexico) or perlita de ceja blanca (Honduras, Peru).

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as R, a resident, and it is treated as a full species, split from the Tropical Gnatcatcher and recognised by the North and Middle American checklist committee in 2021.

Photography tips

Check trees in clearings and hedgerows and the shrub level at forest edges, where the birds often come down from the canopy. A mixed flock overhead is a good place to look for a small gray bird with a long tail.