The California Gnatcatcher is a distinct subspecies and was confirmed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 1993 as endangered. 77,000 is estimated to be its total global population.* It is emblematic of the rich coastal sage scrub of southern California, an enduring remnant of our wild coast that is now one of the most endangered habitat types in North America. Some researchers estimate that as little as 10 percent of California’s original coastal sage scrub habitat remains today.

*Atwood, J. L. and D. R. Bontrager. 2001. California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica). In The Birds of North America, No. 574 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.