You’re looking for warblers during migration. You look for vibrant colors.
The yellow of a Yellow (Setophaga petechia).
Or of a Prothonotary (Protonotaria citrea).
The orange of a Blackburnian (Setophaga fusca) or American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla).
A plain gray bird keeps making noise.
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis).
Beautiful birds are colorful with delicate songs.
But what about a gray bird with a catlike call? Still beautiful.
Catbirds have personalities; they make chattery mews, squeaks, and gurgles.
Dumetella derives from the Latin for thicket. Dumetella carolinensis “means ‘thorn-bush dweller from the Carolinas.”
Audubon explains the Gray Catbird “hides in the shrubbery.” American Bird Conservancy adds they like “thickets, brushy suburban areas, and gardens.”
The bird’s defining characteristic is its namesake, the catlike call.
Catbirds don’t pipe down.
The catlike sound is the call, while the song can last many minutes. Catbirds keep it interesting with squeaks, gurgles, and whistles. They sometimes imitate other birds.
Like mockingbirds? Yes and no. The Cornell Lab explains “mockingbirds tend to repeat phrases three or more times…Catbirds usually don’t repeat phrases.”
I’m a proponent of common birds. Catbirds are common and gray.
American Robins (Turdus migratorious) are common but colorful; Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) too. Gray isn’t as exciting, but catbirds are exciting in other ways. Their ubiquity; their sounds; their personalities. There is so much to love.
One morning a birder and I were trying to locate a Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor). A catbird showed up, “plain but with lots of personality.” Focused on that Prairie Warbler, the birder and I still agreed:
Gotta love catbirds.
Excellent breakdown and images of the Gray Catbird, James. I did not know the translated meaning of their Latin name and it perfectly appropriate! I like their varied calls and mewing and chatting. Sometimes it almost sounds like they're having an imaginary conversation with themselves. They're another overlooked and underappreciated bird that I have come to enjoy seeing more and more the past few years. Thanks for sharing.
I love catbirds. Recently we've had one in our yard and he does sound remarkably like a cat. And the other day I heard one mimicking. It almost sounds like a mockingbird but not as fast or as repetitive. They are beautiful birds. Their gray is elegant not drab.