Gray catbird
Dumetella carolinensis
35.9269, -79.0386
Field Notes
Description:
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. They are medium-sized, slender songbirds with a long, rounded, black tail and a narrow, straight bill. Catbirds are fairly long legged and have broad, rounded wings. They give the impression of being entirely slate gray but have a small black cap, blackish tail, and a rich rufous-brown patch under the tail.
Habitat:
They are native to most of temperate North America east of the Rocky Mountains. They migrate to the southeastern United States, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean in winter; except for the occasional vagrant they always stay east of the American Cordillera. They are extremely rare vagrants to Western Europe. Their breeding habitat is semi-open areas with dense, low growth; they are also found in urban, suburban, and rural habitats. In the winter quarters they actually seem to associate with humans even more.
Notes:
Anticipating spring, which I hope arrives soon here, I thought it would be nice to share these photos of a young catbird trying its first attempts at flying. The parent bird was up in a tree above, apparently singing encouragement.
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