Gray Catbird

Content for this page researched and created by Tai Lehman.

The Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) gets its name from the call that sounds like meow of a common cat. (Urban Wildlife Guide). They are usually detected by their calls rather than by being directly seen. They are common but really secretive. The Gray Catbird has been described as species that easy to play with and train because when the bird sees food it can come running to the person that has the food for them. (A Complete Guide to Bird Feeding).

The average length of the gray catbird is 8 ½ inches and the average wing span on the bird is about 11 inches. Its average weight is about 1.3 ounces. They are a chunky, medium size bird. (National Geographic). The Gray Catbird also has a unique color (Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America.) which is the same for both males and females. Their bodies are covered in dark gray and their heads has a black color that looks like a cap. They also have black with a chestnut color underneath (National Geographic) and have large black eyes (Birds of North America).

They make a variety of mimicking sounds. Some of these resemble the calls of thrashers or American Dippers. Their “meow” call can be confused with the call of the Hermit thrush or the spotted and green-tailed towhee. (National Geographic). The Gray Catbird can typically live to be the age of 11 and the oldest one to be captured was the age of 18 (the first time this bird was captured was in 1984 and then the last time was in 2001.) (All About Birds). Gray Catbirds typically live near streams where a thick, low growth of vegetation is common, but they are also found away from water in ecotonal edges and in other thicketed areas. However, The Catbirds found in Washington typically are found along streams, because there is low growth that is thick where they can forage for supplies and food. (Bird Web).

In the breeding season, males pursue females and then pause to sing and strut about with their wings lowered and their tails prominently displayed. They then turn to display their under tails. (The Birds Handbook).  They breed across Southern Canada and the United States, but not in Texas or in parts of southwest Oregon. In the Spring they migrate from the first week of April until late May with the largest migrating numbers are observed in the third week of May.

Gray Catbird hatching
Photo by M. Petroff, own work for public use

The Catbird is well known here in Pennsylvania and is found in thick hedgerows, woodland edges, and even in some forest clear cuts during the winter. They are found where ever they can find food.

Their nests are typically located 3 to 6 feet off the ground in the bushes or in thickly branched trees. Most of the work to build the nest is done by the female, However, the males are also there to help by supplying his mate with nest building materials (straw, bark, mud, and sometimes even trash that they find laying around). After five to six days of working on the nest they will turn it into an open cup shape and use this nest to raise their young. Sometimes their nests can even be 60 feet off the ground or even just a few feet off the ground. (All About Birds).  Their eggs are a deep greenish blue. During the start of the breading season, catbirds sing early in the morning and evening, and also might continue into the night. (Audubon guide to North America birds).

In May to August catbirds lay 3-4 eggs and may have 1-2 broods per season. (Birds of North America). The catbird is able to recognize and remove eggs of blood parasites such as the brown headed cowbird. Destroying the eggs is also a way for them to eliminate the competition for resources and stop the predation

A Juvenile Catbird
Photo by R. Gordon, For Creative Commons

of the nest by other animals. Egg destruction can also open up another reproductive opportunity for the female to find a new mate and replace the eggs. (Canadian Journal of Zoology).

 

The Gray Catbirds are generally solitary creatures and stay on the ground under dense vegetation looking for food such as insects, berries, and invertebrates. (Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America). These birds can also have some interactions with people and will tolerate the presence of humans in suburban and urban locations (Birds of North America).

When the Catbirds migrate they increase their fat storage and slowly increase their rate of basal fat metabolism throughout the winter. (Journal of Experimental Biology). Catbirds breed from the Mid-Atlantic states down into over-wintering areas like Cuba and the Southernmost parts of Florida. During other times during the year they can also be found in a variety of non-breeding locations. (The Condor Ornithological Applications).

Initially Gray Catbirds were believed to be genetically and socially monogamous, with the parenting male contributing to most of the nest feeding during the nest building during the reproductive cycle. Sometimes, however, the Gray Catbird is not monogamous, and some males have been observed taking care of two nests. A study in East Buffalo Township, Pennsylvania demonstrated that twenty-five males and thirteen females were included in a breeding group and that some of these males lost a great deal of weight during the breeding season because they were taking care of two nests and a large number of eggs and nestlings The Gray Catbird has high amounts of male care and polygyny would not have expected to occur unless the female deems that an extra male to care for her nestlings would be benificial. The female would prefer to mate with the same male that has already mated if he was a higher quality that other males. (The Wilson Journal of Ornithology).

A Catbird sitting on a tree
Photo by J. Benson, Wikimedia

To help scientists find the same bird, put bands on their legs. Banding helps scientists evaluate migration patterns and even longevity since the bands can also be used to determine the age of the banded bird (The surprising secrets of a common backyard bird). The Gray Catbird secretes a variety of chemical that serve as signals. Many of these are made up of volatile and semi- volatile compounds. The production and release of these chemical change with the age of the bird and with the season (Journal of Chemical Ecology).

There was a test done to determine the repeatability of hematocrits in the Northeast Pennsylvania. Catbirds were captured and tested in order to determine if their hematocrits were changing during their lifetimes. The study also measured body size and other body measurements. The birds were captured in the nest around mid-July and then in mid-April the following year of 2006-2008 at the sites in and near Lackawanna state park in Lackawanna country. The result that they found was that hematocrits was reliable and repeatable across for the forts and second time captures, and found when they are capture again their body sizes were higher. (Journal of Field of Ornithology).

Gray Catbirds were tested for the presence of the eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) (a virus that has high mortality rate in people and is spread by a variety of bird species). Only one catbird in the study, though, carried the virus. This means that The Catbird showed a low chance of disseminating EEEV (Journal of Medical Entomology).

General References:

Alderfer, Jonathan K. National Geographic Complete Birds of North America.  Washington,

D.C.: National Geographic, 2006.

Cornell Lab. Gray Catbird. Life History, All About Birds. N.p. N.d Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

Ehrlich, Paul. David D. Darryl Wheye. The Birder’s Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural

History of North American Birds: Including All Species That Regularly Breed North of Mexico.

New York, Simon &Amp; Schuster, 1988.

Dennis, John V. A Complete Guide to Bird Feeding. New York, Knopf, 1975.

Feinstein, Julie. The Gray Catbird. Urban Wildlife Guide. N.p., 2016. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

Gray Catbird. BirdWeb. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

Kaufman, kenn. Gray Catbird Dumetella Carolinensis. Audubon Guide to North American

Birds. Web. 9 October 2016.

McWilliams, Gerald M., and Daniel W. Brauning. The Birds of Pennsylvania. Ithaca, NY:

Cornell UP, 2000.

Shinn, Meghan. The Gray cat bird.  Horticulture. May/Jun2016, Vol. 113 Issue 3, p72-72. 1p. 1

Color Photograph.

Sibley, David A. The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America. New York: Alfred

Knopf, 2003

Vuilleumier, François. Birds of North America. London: DK, 2009. Print.

 Smith, Joe. Consider the Catbird: The Surprising Secrets of a Common Backyard Bird.

Smarter by Nature. 2015. Web 9 October 2016.

Scientific:

Corder, keely, Kristen D. David R. Janice H. Paul S.Annual life-stage regulation of lipid

metabolism and storage and association with PPARs in the migrant species Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)”. Journal of Experimental Biology 205: 3101-3105. 2016. doi:10.1242/jeb.141408.

 Hanley, Daniel, William Minehart, and Donald C. Dearborn. “Documentation of a

Polygynous Gray Catbird.” The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 119.3 (2007): 499-502. Web.

Hatch, Margret., and Robert J. Smith. “Repeatability of Hematocrits and Body Mass of Gray

Catbirds”. Journal of Field Ornithology 81.1 (2010): 64-70. Web.

Johnston, Emily. Jean T. Juan M. Jen O. “Anaplasma phagocytophilum Infection in

American Robins and Gray Catbirds: An Assessment of Reservoir Competence and Disease

in Captive Wildlife”. Journal of Medical Entomology 2013. 50(1):163-170. 2013

Owen, Jennifer. Frank M and etc. “Test of Recrudescence Hypothesis for Overwintering of

Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis Virus in Gray Catbirds”. Journal of Medical

Entomology 2011. web

Ryder, Tomas. James F. Peter M. “Estimating Migratory Connectivity of Gray Catbirds

(Dumetella carolinensis) using Geolocator and Mark—Recapture Data”. The Condor

Ornithological Applications vol 128 pp. 448-453. 2008. Web. 9 October 2016.

Spooner, Angela. Stanislav P. Jaroslav P. “Why do Gray Catbirds destroy eggs in nests of

other birds? Experimental tests of alternative hypotheses”. Canadian Journal of Zoology.

Vol 75. Pp 302-307. 1996. 30 September 2016.

Shaw, Clara. Jordan R. Amy A. Mary G. Rebecca W. “Volatile and Semi-volatile Compounds

in Gray Catbird Uropygial Secretions Vary with Age and Between Breeding and Wintering

Grounds”. Journal of Chemical Ecology; Apr 2011, Vol. 37 Issue 4, p329 19 March 2011.