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Gray Catbird

(Dumetella carolinensis)
Banded July 15, 1998 Carmel, Indiana

General Information

The Gray Catbird, a member of the mockingbird family, is a common breeding species over most of the US except the far west and southwest. Known for its ability to mimic the calls of other birds, it also makes a cat-like meowing sound that gives it its name. Its preferred habitats are thickets and brushy forest and roadside edges, especially near water. During winter months, it withdraws southward from its breeding range to the extreme southern US, Central America and northern South America. Its diet of caterpillars, cankerworms, gypsy moths, Japanese Beetles, June Beetles, grasshoppers, aphids, termites, and other insect pests, makes the Gray Catbird an economically important species. Fruits and berries are also included in its diet.

The adult is dark gray with a black crown.

Figure 1- Adult Gray Catbird

Figure 2 - Adult Gray Catbird

The iris of the adult bird is a dark plum color. The bill is black and the underside a lighter gray.

The crown of the adult is uniformly black.

 Figure 3 - Adult Gray Catbird

 Fig. 4 - Adult Gray Catbird

Underparts of the adult bird are light gray.

The undertail coverts, or Crissum, is brick red. No other bird in North America is gray with a black crown and red undertail coverts.

Fig. 5 - Adult Undertail Coverts

Figure 6 - Young Gray Catbird

First year or hatching year birds are grayish brown above with a grayish black crown.

The iris of the young bird is grayish brown. Also note the light fleshy color at the base of the mouth.

 Figure 7 - Young Gray Catbird

Figure 8 - Undertail Coverts of a Young Bird

The loosely textured undertail coverts of the young bird are red.

Nesting Behavior

Gray Catbirds build a bulky cup nest of sticks, vines, leaves and grasses in a low tree or shrub. From 3 to 5 eggs are incubated by the female and hatch in about 12 to 15 days. Young are cared for by both parents and leave the nest in about 11 to 15 days. A mated pair may raise two or three broods in a season.

Banding Recoveries

The Bird Banding Lab web site reports that between 1955 and 1997, a total of 579,461 Gray Catbirds were banded. Of these, 8,340 have been recovered, a recovery rate of 1.44%. Banding studies show that Gray Catbirds are short to long distance migrants that can live from 7 to 10 years in the wild. If you should recover a banded bird, please report the band number to the Bird Banding Lab by calling 1-800-327-BAND.

Conservation Status

Overall, Gray Catbird populations seem to be holding steady, but declines are being observed in many regions of North America. Catbirds are able to recognize cowbird eggs and remove them from their nest, so cowbird parasitism does not have the impact on catbird populations that it has on other songbirds. Loss of suitable habitat on breeding and wintering grounds may be a cause of population declines. Parasites, predators and accidental kills by collisions with man-made structures certainly take their toll.

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