Dumetella carolinensis

Geographic Range

Gray catbirds are native to the Nearctic region. They breed in north, central and eastern United States (from Oregon to New Mexico, to along the East coast), and south-central and western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba). During the winter they live in the extreme southeastern United States, along the east coast of Mexico, and in the Caribbean Islands.

• Biogeographic Regions
• nearctic nearctic
  • native native
• neotropical neotropical
  • native native

Habitat

Gray catbirds live in dense thickets of shrubs and vines within woodlands, and are occasionally found in residential areas. They are also found around some forest edges and clearings, along roadsides, fencerows, abandoned farmland and streamsides. They prefer areas without many conifer trees.

• Habitat Regions
• temperate temperate
• tropical tropical
• terrestrial terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• taiga taiga
• forest forest

• Other Habitat Features
• urban urban
• suburban suburban
• agricultural agricultural
• riparian riparian

Physical Description

Gray catbirds are medium-sized birds with a dark gray body, a black cap and black tail feathers. They have a chestnut patch underneath the tail coverts. Eastern populations are generally darker grey than western populations. Gray catbirds have short rounded wings and long rounded tail feathers, a short black bill, black eyes, and black feet and legs. They range from 21 to 24 cm long, and weigh 23 to 56 grams.

Gray catbirds are monomorphic, meaning that males and females look alike. Chicks are covered in brown or dark grey down.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic endothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike

Reproduction

Gray catbirds are monogamous. Breeding pairs form soon after the catbirds arrive on the breeding grounds in the spring.

• Mating System
• monogamous monogamous

Gray catbirds breed between April and early August. They usually raise two broods per season. The female builds a bulky, open nest that is low to the ground (within 2 m). The nests are made from twigs, scraps, and paper bits. The female then lays 1 to 5 (usually 3 or 4) turquoise-colored eggs (about 17 mm by 24 mm). The female incubates the eggs for 12 to 14 days. The young are altricial when they hatch, and the parents shade them in the nest by perching on the rim with their wings spread and breast feathers fluffed. The male and female both feed young, whose diet usually consists only of small invertebrates. The young depart from the nest 10 to 11 days after hatching, and the parents will continue to feed them for up to 12 days. The young birds can breed for the first time the next summer.

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous iteroparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• oviparous oviparous

Gray catbirds are born altricial, which means they cannot take care of themselves. Both males and females feed the young, who only eat small invertebrates. Parents shade the young from the sun by perching on the rim of the nest with their wings spread and breast feathers fluffed. The young fledge 10 to 11 days after hatching. The parents continue to feed them for up to 12 days longer.

• Parental Investment
• altricial altricial
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • male
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female
• pre-independence
  • provisioning
    • male
    • female

Lifespan/Longevity

The oldest reported gray catbird lived for ten years and eleven months.

Behavior

Gray catbird are diurnal and migratory. Breeding pairs are territorial during the breeding season and in winter. During the breeding season, males defend a small territory around their nest. They rarely return to the same breeding site in successive years. During winter, males and females defend separate territories. Gray catbirds flock together in groups of 10 to 15 during migration.

Gray catbirds tends to fly low and for short distances from perch to perch. They prefer not to fly over wide, open spaces.

• Key Behaviors
• arboreal arboreal
• flies
• diurnal diurnal
• motile motile
• migratory migratory
• solitary solitary
• territorial territorial

Home Range

We have no information about the home range size of gray catbirds at this time.

Communication and Perception

Gray catbirds communicate visually, by how they hold their head or how their feathers are positioned. They also communicate by way of calls and songs. Gray catbirds are known for their "mew"-like song, which is reminiscent of the "mew" made by a cat. However, these skilled vocalists can make more than 100 different types of sounds, including whistles, harsh chatters and squeaks. They can even mimic other birds, tree frogs and other mechanical sounds that they hear. Part of this ability comes form the unusual structure of their syrinx, which allows both sides of the syrinx to operate independently. This means that gray catbirds can sing with two voices at once. Gray catbirds are also known to sing in duet.

• Communication Channels
• visual visual
• acoustic acoustic

• Other Communication Modes
• mimicry mimicry
• duets duets

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

Gray catbirds mostly forage in treetops and on the ground. They are omnivores, consuming primarily insects and fruits. Insects in their diet include ants , beetles , flies , caterpillars and moths , including gypsy moths , spiders , and aphids . Gray catbirds eat small fruits from a number of different plants, including plants in the following genera: Myrica , Sassafras , Prunus , Cordea , and Trema .

• Primary Diet
• omnivore omnivore

• Animal Foods
• insects

• Plant Foods
• fruit

Predation

Snakes , rats , foxes , domestic cats , squirrels and chipmunks , raccoons , blue jays , American crows and common grackles prey on catbird eggs and chicks. Adult catbirds are sometimes hunted by raptors such as red-tailed hawks , Cooper's hawks , and peregrine falcons .

Gray catbirds respond aggressively towards predators. They flash their wings and tails at predators and make "quirt" and "mew" calls. They may even attack and peck at predators that come near the nest.

Ecosystem Roles

Gray catbirds are important predators of insects, and may be especially important at controlling infestations of gypsy moth larvae. They also provide food for their predators. They are hosts for a number of body parasites, including lice , hippoboscid flies and ticks .

Gray catbird nests are often parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds . However, they are one of the few bird species that is able to learn to recognize cowbird eggs, and to eject them from the nest. Even when brown-headed cowbird eggs are not ejected, brown-headed cowbird chicks rarely survive to fledge from gray catbird nests.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Gray catbirds eat insects, which are often pests to humans. They may particularly important in controlling damaging species of moth and butterfly larvae, such as gypsy moth caterpillars.

• Positive Impacts
• controls pest population

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Gray catbirds are sometimes considered a pest because they eat fruit such as blueberries and raspberries.

• Negative Impacts
• crop pest

Conservation Status

Gray catbirds may benefit from human activity. They commonly make their homes in the kinds of scrubby, dense habitats that are created by deforestation and regrowth. However, their habitat has also been destroyed by clearing fields for agriculture. Gray catbirds are considered to be a common bird species, but they seem to have become less common recently. There are about 10,000,000 gray catbirds in the world. They are protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

BioKIDS Critter Catalog

Contributors

Tanya Dewey (author), Animal Diversity Web.

Kari Kirschbaum (editor), Animal Diversity Web.

Terri Pinkoski (author), University of Alberta, Cindy Paszkowski (editor), University of Alberta.

References

Bird Neighbors: Catbird, 2000. "Northern Michigan Birding Website" (On-line). Accessed November 20, 2000 at www.northbirding.com/idtraining/guide/ch5sec3.htm#CATBIRD .

Cimprich, D., F. Moore. 1995. Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis). The Birds of North America No. 167 . Washington, D.C.: The Academy of Natural Sciences and Philadelphia, PA: The American Ornithologists' Union.

National Geographic Society, 1999. Field Guide to the Birds of North America (third edition) . Washington, DC.: National Geographic Society.