I took this picture of a catbird at Jockey’s Ridge State Park on the North Carolina Outer Banks, June 2008.
Not nearly as visible as its cousin the mockingbird, catbirds are more likely to be heard than seen. However, if you do see a catbird, you can identify it by these characteristics: long tail, relatively small bill, uniformly slate gray all over, black cap on its head and black beady eye, and usually has a rufous/brownish colored patch at the base of its tail. Catbirds may be a tiny bit smaller than a mockingbird, but is basically the same size.
Catbirds are usually found close to very dense thickets and can be found basically everywhere west of the Rocky Mountains. Catbirds must be a little smarter than most other songbirds. Brown-headed cowbirds – songbirds which lay their eggs in other species’ nests and make that mother bear the load of raising their young – are rarely successful in parasitizing catbirds. Catbirds have been repeatedly documented pushing cowbird eggs of their nest, apparently they have great memory and recognition of their own eggs.
Though not quite the skilled mimic as a mockingbird, gray catbirds can imitate over 100 known sounds – ranging from mechanical sounds to tree frogs to other birds. Their characteristic ‘mew’-sounding song is what gives them their “feline” name.
Keep a closer eye out next time you think you hear a mockingbird and you might catch a glimpse of a gray catbird.
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