Species

Gray catbird

Dumetella carolinensis

A slate-grey mimic that mews like a cat from dense shrubs and sings long, jumbled songs.

Photo Rhododendrites (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Communication

At a glance

Size: About 21 to 24 cm long
Weight: About 23 to 56 g
Habitat: Dense shrubs, thickets and gardens
Diet: Insects and berries
In Georgia: A common summer resident in the north; a winter visitor on the coast
Voice: A cat-like "mew" and long, jumbled songs
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Slate grey; black cap; rusty patch under the tail
Told apart from: Northern mockingbird, which is paler with white wing patches
Where to look: Dense shrubs and thickets

Behaviour

Catbirds sing long, rambling songs mixing their own phrases with imitations of other birds. They eat many berries in autumn.

Why they matter

Gray catbirds are important seed dispersers of native shrubs. They can recognise and remove cowbird eggs from their nests.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A bulky cup in dense shrubs
Eggs — Usually three or four
Incubation — About 12 to 13 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about 10 to 11 days
Lifespan — Several years

Living around people

Dense native shrubs give them nest sites and berries.
Window strikes are common on migration.

Misconceptions

A mewing sound in the bushes is a lost cat. It may well be a catbird.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Wintering on the coast	Wintering	Wintering	Arriving in the north	Nesting	Chicks	Second broods	Young fledging	Migrants	Migrants	Wintering on the coast	Wintering on the coast

Where it lives

Recorded in 70 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

Mexico

If you found one

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