The Gray Catbird

For some reason I didn't figure it out until just last summer, when Mr. Red House pointed and asked, "What is the gray bird over there that sounds like a cat?"

Gray Catbird

Ahhhh, so that's why it's called a Gray CATbird!

Gray Catbirds do indeed make a 'meow' that sounds impressively like an unhappy cat, but they can also mimic other birds and animals in their impressive song repertoire, much like their Mockingbird and Thrasher relatives.  Usually on the shy side, they often sing while hiding in shrubbery.

The Gray Catbird usually lives in semi-open areas with lots of dense, low growth, such as scrublands, woodland edges, overgrown farmland, shrubby swamps, and suburban gardens that have dense bushes and hedges.  They eat mainly insects and berries, but they will also visit suet feeders.

Catbirds are considered omnivores, and people have noticed them eating such varied and diverse things as cheese, bread, milk, mushrooms, doughnuts, boiled potatoes, fried fish, beef stew, peanuts, and beef soup!  Fruit and berries constitute some of their favorite foods, however, and a good way to attract them.  When I left out a feeder with grape jelly and oranges for some resident Orioles, it was the Gray Catbirds that came and ate it.

Catbirds build their nests in dense bushes, briar tangles, or thickets usually fairly low to the ground.  Because of this their main predators are snakes and, ironically, cats.  They are scrupulous in the cleanliness of their nest, immediately removing any excreta from the young, and they are very intolerant of any foreign eggs sneaked in by parasitic birds like Cowbirds.  Grey Catbirds have strong mothering instincts after they are born, however, and have been known to adopt and take care of the babies of other types of birds that have been orphaned.

baby Gray Catbird

Gray Catbirds are migratory birds, spending summers in the Eastern and middle part of North America and then spending their winters along the Gulf Coast, in Central America, and in the Caribbean. (Wouldn't that be nice?)  Some will reside year-round along the Atlantic coast even as far north as Massachusetts if there is a plentiful amount of food.

range map from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Like many songbirds, the Grey Catbird migrates at night, forming flocks of around 10 to 15 birds.  They migrate at night to avoid predators such as hawks and because they need less water flying through the cooler night sky.  A major threat to the Grey Catbird and other migrating songbirds, however, is collisions.  They often collide with vehicles and buildings during migration.  Night lights from buildings and communication towers confuse them, leading to more collisions.  In 1991 the city of Toronto launched the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) in order to address this issue, and since then organizations such as local Audubon Societies have started Lights Out campaigns, working with buildings in large cities to get them to turn off their lights at night during migration times.

baby Gray Catbird

All of our local Catbirds have migrated down South for the winter, which is probably good as the ones that overwinter in Massachusetts have a high mortality rate.  I enjoy seeing these beautiful birds every summer, though, and hearing its most unusual meowing call!

Happy bird-watching!

And for all those being affected by the large winter storms, stay safe out there!