What is this tiny bird?

Hello,

I've been looking in my birding books to try and identify a tiny, maybe 3" long bird.

It's dark gray on top with a lighter gray on bottom.

It has a very short tail, and a longer beak.

I haven't been able to take a good picture yet.

It comes back every year to a little bird house that my daughter and her grandpa built.

It almost looks like a wren but the feathers look slick to it's body.

Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks,
Beth

flipping through my book I came up with 2 ideas, though no idea if any use birdhouses: gnatcatcher and dark-eyed junco.

good luck!

black-capped or carolina chickadee (if you're in the crossover area)??? Since that's a cavity nester and fits the color description.

You can also go to "whatbird.com" and enter in descriptor information and come up with a list that matches.