Gray Catbird

Quick Take

• This bird can produce two sounds at the same time, a remarkable ability that has everything to do with a unique anatomical feature most songbirds share. Explore its vocal anatomy →
• Unlike most birds, the gray catbird stays aggressively territorial even in winter, and it takes that aggression further than you would expect. See its territorial behavior →
• Its Latin genus name is not actually a reference to the bird itself. Instead, it describes something about where and how it lives. Discover the Latin name origins →
• A North American songbird showing up in Western Europe sounds like a mistake, yet it does happen, and migration timing is the reason why. Understand its migration timing →

The gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) is a medium-sized songbird native to North America. It inhabits dense vegetative areas, such as overgrown farmland and abandoned orchards, where it prefers to hide in thorny thickets and sing its songs of mimicry. Look for this species low to the ground as it forages for insects and berries. Learn everything there is to know about this catbird, including where it lives, what it eats, and how it behaves.

5 Amazing Gray Catbird Facts

• This North American bird occasionally finds its way to Western Europe during migration.
• Their songs possess cat-like qualities and can mimic other birds and animals, such as tree frogs.
• They have a songbird syrinx and can make two sounds at once.
• Gray catbirds are territorial and aggressive even during winter, which is rare for most birds.
• Half of their diet consists of fruit and berries.

Where to Find the Gray Catbird

The gray catbird lives in North America in more than 20 countries, including Canada, the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica. This species is migratory, breeding in the temperate United States and Canada and wintering in the Southeastern United States, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. They are also extremely rare vagrants to Western Europe.

Catbirds inhabit dense vegetative habitats, such as scrublands, woodland edges, overgrown farmland, and abandoned orchards. During the winter, they live in thickets near a water source with plenty of berries. Look for them near the ground as they hop along thick vegetation, and listen for their mechanical, raspy mimicry as they hide in bushes and trees.

Nests

They place the nest anywhere from near the ground to as high as 60 feet up in dense shrubs, thickets, and briar tangles, though most nests are found between 3 and 30 feet above the ground. Females build a large, bulky cup using twigs, leaves, grass, weeds, and trash, and line the interior with finer material.

Classification and Scientific Name

The gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) is from the Mimidae family, which consists of New World catbirds, thrashers, mockingbirds, and tremblers. This family is known for its vocalizations and ability to mimic many species. Its genus, Dumetella, is Latin for “thorny thicket” and refers to the bird’s habit of singing from hidden undergrowth. Its specific name, carolinensis, is New Latin for “from the Carolinas.” The gray catbird is monotypic, meaning it has no recognized subspecies.

Size, Appearance, & Behavior

The gray catbird is a medium-sized passerine bird, measuring 8.1 to 9.4 inches long and weighing 0.8 to 2.0 ounces, with an 8.7 to 11.8-inch wingspan. They have long, rounded tails, straight, narrow bills, long legs, and broad wings. They are a lead-gray color all over, but the top of the head, tail, and wing remiges (flight feathers) are a darker gray to black. Males and females are indistinguishable, but juveniles are plainer with buff-colored undertail coverts. 

Named for its cat-like call, the gray catbird can mimic other birds and animals, like tree frogs. Its voice has a raspy, mechanical quality. It has a songbird syrinx and can make two sounds at once. You won’t find them singing while perched on a branch. Instead, they prefer to hide inside bushes as they sing. They spend their days hopping through low vegetation and flying short distances. These birds are rather aggressive and territorial, even during winter. They often drive off intruders and will even destroy the eggs and nestlings of other woodland bird species. 

Migration Pattern and Timing

Gray catbirds breed throughout most of the United States, except for the West Coast. They migrate to the Gulf Coast during winter, from Florida to Texas, down to Central America and the Caribbean. Populations along the US East Coast are nonmigratory and remain in their habitats year-round.

Diet

Gray catbirds are omnivores, and about half of their diet consists of insects, with fruit and berries making up most of the remainder.

What Does the Gray Catbird Eat?

They eat fruit such as holly berries, cherries, blackberries, and elderberries. In the summer, they rely more on insects, like grasshoppers, ants, beetles, worms, and other bugs. It forages for berries in shrubs and trees and looks for insects on the ground by flipping leaves aside.

Predators, Threats, and Conservation Status

The IUCN lists the gray catbird as LC or “least concern.” Due to its extensive range and large, stable population, this species does not meet the “threatened” status thresholds. While this species does not face any imminent threats, it may be susceptible to the future effects of urbanization and climate change. Spring heat waves can endanger the young in their nests, and wildfires can destroy their habitats.

What Eats the Gray Catbird?

Their predators include snakes, rats, cats, foxes, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, blue jays, crows, and grackles. These animals mainly prey on catbird eggs and chicks, but are not always successful. Gray catbird parents hide their nests in extremely dense shrubbery to prevent nest predation. Their gray plumage also acts as camouflage as they move in the shadows of tangles. This species is not afraid of predators and flashes its wings and tail while making its “mew” calls.

Reproduction, Young, and Molting

Gray catbirds form monogamous pair bonds during breeding, and courtship involves singing, chasing, posturing, and bowing. Pairs produce two broods per season. Females lay an average of four greenish-blue eggs, with clutches ranging from two to six. Females incubate alone for 12 to 15 days, but both parents assist in feeding the nestlings. The young fledge the nest 10 to 11 days after hatching. This species becomes sexually mature around one year old and lives an average of 2.5 years in the wild.

Population

The global gray catbird population is 29 million individuals, and population trends have been stable over the last 40 years in North America. They are also not experiencing any extreme fluctuations or fragmentations in their numbers.