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Gray Catbird

Dumetella carolinensisOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Mockingbirds and Thrashers (Mimidae)

Gray Catbird Breeding Adult Portrait
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General

Gray Catbird: Small, shy, dark gray mockingbird with black cap and red-brown undertail coverts. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is gray-brown above with slate-gray crown.

Range and Habitat

Gray Catbird: Breeds from southern Canada to central New Mexico and the Gulf states and in Bermuda. Most spend winters in the southeastern U.S., Panama, and the West Indies, but some winter north to Minnesota and southeastern Canada. Prefers low, dense vegetation or vine tangles at the edges of forests, marshes, and streams; does not occur in forest interiors. Suburban landscapes often contain good habitat for this species.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"mew", "mew", "chack"

Interesting Facts

 Gray Catbirds are able to recognize their own eggs making them less susceptible to brood parasites such as the Brown-headed Cowbird.

 When feeding on the ground, they toss leaves aside with their bills rather than scratching with their feet.

 Their calls include the catlike meow call that gives them their name.

 A group of catbirds are collectively known as a "mewing" and a "seat" of catbirds.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Gray Catbird
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Mockingbirds and Thrashers (Mimidae)_blue
Species Dumetella carolinensis
Length8.5 - 9 Inches
Wingspan11.5 Inches

Gray Catbird

Gray Catbird: Small, shy, dark gray mockingbird with black cap and red-brown undertail coverts. The bill, legs, and feet are black. Forages on ground, shrubs and branches. Feeds mostly on insects and their larvae, spiders, berries and fruits. Swift direct flight on rapid wing beats.

● Song: "mew", "mew", "chack"

● Foraging & Feeding: Gray Catbird: Feeds mostly on insects such as beetles, caterpillars, cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers, moths, ants, and aphids; also eats spiders, fruits, berries, and seeds; forages on the ground or in shrubs and low trees.

● Breeding & nesting: Gray Catbird: Two to six dark blue green eggs are laid in a nest made of twigs and grass, lined with finer materials, and built in a dense shrub or low tree. Incubation ranges from 12 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Gray Catbird: None in range.

Flight Pattern

Swift flight on series of rapidly beating wings., Alternates several rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.
Gray Catbird Breeding Adult Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Gray Catbird: Breeds from southern Canada to central New Mexico and the Gulf states and in Bermuda. Most spend winters in the southeastern U.S., Panama, and the West Indies, but some winter north to Minnesota and southeastern Canada. Prefers low, dense vegetation or vine tangles at the edges of forests, marshes, and streams; does not occur in forest interiors. Suburban landscapes often contain good habitat for this species.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
Population
MigrationMigratory
Weight1.3 Ounces