Gray Catbird —Ross Feldner

This secretive bird is usually found in dense thickets and gets its name from the cat-like “Mew” it makes. The Gray Catbird's song is an jaunty series of musical whistles and catlike mews mixed in with imitations of other birds' songs. As one of the last birds to settle in for the night, you will often hear it singing until after dusk. Aside from their noted cat call, catbirds can also copy a variety of noises, including a dog’s bark and imitate other birds such as a blackbird, crow, or robin.

Although they appear to be all gray, if you look closer you will see a small black cap and a rufous-brown patch under the tail.

When displaying, Gray Catbirds will often sing from a high perch. This behavior gave rise to an idiom heard in the southern United States, "sitting in the catbird seat," which refers to someone in an advantageous position.

Like many other migratory birds, catbirds face a variety of threats during their biannual journey. Such threats include collisions with windows, wind turbines, and communications towers, as well as attacks by free-roaming cats. A study by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) found that nearly half of all catbird fledglings fell victim to outdoor cats.

Gray Catbird
Fun Facts

Gray Catbirds have a complicated syrinx (song box) that allows them to sing two notes simultaneously.

When announcing or defending
its territory, the male Gray Catbird
will sing loudly, and more softly
when near the nest or when an intruding catbird is nearby.

Unlike most songbirds, Gray Catbirds can identify Brown-headed Cowbird eggs and will eject them from their nests. This prevents catbirds from raising cowbird young at the expense of their own nestlings.

Catbirds prefer quick, low flights
over and through brush while avoiding open areas.

Gray Catbirds are prolific breeders and usually raise
two broods per season.

The catbird's genus name, 
Dumetella, comes from the
Latin phrase for “little thicket.”

Click here to watch a
Gray Catbird foraging

Click here to listen to
its characteristic mewing.

 

Rachel Carson Council
8600 Irvington Avenue  | Bethesda, Maryland 20817-3604
(301) 214-2400 | office@rachelcarsoncouncil.org

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