Gray Catbird singing in a stand of willows – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Gray Catbirds are related to mockingbirds and thrashers and are in the family Mimidae and all of them are noted for their vocalizations and their ability to mimic a wide variety of bird songs and calls and human made sounds. Have you ever heard the sound of a car alarm coming from a thicket? It might just be a catbird making all that noise.
Catbirds have a call that sounds like a kitten or a cat mewing and that sound has fooled people into thinking that there is an abandoned kitten in a thicket when it is really just a slaty gray bird with a black cap and tail and a rufous patch under its tail. Gray Catbirds got their common name from their call.
Male Gray Catbirds can sing up a storm and can sing for as long as 10 minutes or more if they aren’t interrupted. Females do sing but they sing softer and less frequently.
Two days ago while up in the Wasatch Mountains I heard a bird singing in a stand of willows next to East Canyon Creek and for a few seconds the catbird was up on top and in plain view but as soon as it noticed the vehicle it dove down into the willows. The Gray Catbird kept on singing though which made it easier for me to relocate it and even though it was partially hidden I decided to take a few images of it as it sang.
I know this image is a departure from my normal photographic style but I liked it anyway because this photo shows how I often see these birds… nearly hidden from my view. They like to be in thickets, dense shrubs and tangles of vines during all seasons of the year which makes them difficult to see and photograph.
I’m always happy when I get a photograph of this skulking mimic.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Gray Catbird photos plus facts and information about this species.
I do love listening to their calls. Thank you.
We have a few skulking mimics of our own. And I delight in them too.
I was unfamiliar with this bird, and am impressed with the cat-like calls and the interesting, disjointed song. Thanks!
I’ve been going nuts trying to figure out what bird is singing such a varied, melodic song…realize from listening to the second of those tapes, that it’s a catbird….thanks!!!
We used to have a tangle of wild grape vines at the edge of our property by the road. Every so often, someone would just drop off a cat or kitten there, expecting us to take it in as a barn cat…can’t tell you how many poor little mewing “kittens” my sisters and I searched for only to finally discover that the “kitten” was actually a catbird…
Beautiful photo, MiA.