GRAY CATBIRD GALLERY
(Dumetella carolinensis)

eBird offers this description of the Gray Catbird:  Medium-sized songbird, smaller than a robin, with a smooth gray body, black cap, and rusty-red undertail. Sometimes mimics other species in complex, jumbled song. Prefers dense shrubs and small trees in forest edges, streamside thickets, and old fields. Occasionally feeds on suet.

All About Birds adds to the description with this information:  If you’re convinced you’ll never be able to learn bird calls, start with the Gray Catbird. Once you’ve heard its catty mew you won’t forget it. Follow the sound into thickets and vine tangles and you’ll be rewarded by a somber gray bird with a black cap and bright rusty feathers under the tail. Gray Catbirds are relatives of mockingbirds and thrashers, and they share that group’s vocal abilities, copying the sounds of other species and stringing them together to make their own song.

I first saw the Gray Catbird at Sabine Woods on April 27, 2020.  On May 8, 2020 I spotted another one at Warbler Woods. 

I spotted a Gray Catbird high in a tree in the area of the eastern water feature at Sabine Woods on April 27, 2020.
A little different view of the Gray Catbird at Sabine Woods, April 27, 2020.
The Gray Catbird moved to a Mulberry Tree where I got this photo. Sabine Woods, April 27, 2020.
Saw this Gray Catbird at the Old Barn in Warbler Woods on May 8, 2020. The bird did not go to the feeder or the water, staying in the trees.
Another shot of the Gray Catbird at the Old Barn in Warbler Woods. May 8, 2020.


“Cool Facts” About the Gray Catbird From All About Birds…

  • The Gray Catbird’s long song may last for up to 10 minutes.
  • The male Gray Catbird uses his loud song to proclaim his territory. He uses a softer version of the song when near the nest or when a bird intrudes on his territory. The female may sing the quiet song back to the male.
  • The Gray Catbird belongs to the genus Dumetella, which means “small thicket.” And that’s exactly where you should go look for this little skulker.
  • The oldest known Gray Catbird was at least 17 years, 11 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in New Jersey in 2001. It had been banded in Maryland in 1984.