Gray catbird

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Gray catbird
Temporal range: Late Pleistocene – present
↓
Adult in Brooklyn, New York, USA


Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Mimidae
Genus: Dumetella
C.T. Wood, 1837
Species:
D. carolinensis
Binomial name
Dumetella carolinensis
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Approximate distribution map
  Breeding
  Migration
  Year-round
  Nonbreeding
Synonyms

Genus:
Galeoscoptes Cabanis, 1850

  • Dumetella bermudianus Bangs & Bradlee, 1901
  • Dumetella carolinensis bermudianus Bangs & Bradlee, 1901
  • Dumetella carolinensis carolinensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
  • Dumetella felivox Vieillot, 1807
  • Galeoscoptes carolinensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
  • Muscicapa carolinensis Linnaeus, 1766
  • Turdus felivox Vieillot, 1807
A Gray catbird stands in the grass

The gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), also spelled grey catbird, is a medium-sized North American and Central American perching bird of the mimid family. It is the only member of the "catbird" genus Dumetella. Like the black catbird (Melanoptila glabrirostris), it is among the basal lineages of the Mimidae, probably a closer relative of the Caribbean thrasher and trembler assemblage than of the mockingbirds and Toxostoma thrashers.[2][3] In some areas it is known as the slate-colored mockingbird.[4]

Taxonomy

The name Dumetella is based upon the Latin term dūmus ("thorny thicket";

the Carolinas".[6]

The species was first described by

Systema naturae. His original name Muscicapa carolinensis reflected the belief, widespread at that time, that the gray catbird was some sort of Old World flycatcher (presumably due to its remarkably plain coloration, not similar to other mimids).[7]

The

scientific name of Linné.[5][7][8]

Shaw (and subsequently C.T. Wood) used

Turdus).[5][9]

Though mimids were widely considered

Turdidae until the 1850s, this was not any more correct than treating them as Old World flycatchers, as these three families are distinct lineages of the superfamily Muscicapoidea. In the mid-20th century, the Turdidae and even most of the Sylvioidea were lumped
in the Muscicapidae—but the Mimidae were not.

Lastly, the smaller gray catbirds from Bermuda, which have proportionally narrow and shorter rectrices and primary remiges, were described as subspecies bermudianus ("from Bermuda") by Outram Bangs in 1901. But this taxon was never widely accepted, and today the gray catbird is generally considered monotypic as a species, too.

Description

Adults weigh from 23.2 to 56.5 g (0.8 to 2.0 oz), with an average of 35–40 g (1.2–1.4 oz)

buffy
undertail coverts.

Vocalizations

This species is named for its cat-like call. Like many members of the

alarm call resembles the quiet calls of a male mallard
.

A gray catbird's song is easily distinguished from that of the northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) or brown thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) because the mockingbird repeats its phrases or "strophes" three to four times, the thrasher usually twice, but the catbird sings most phrases only once. The catbird's song is usually described as more raspy and less musical than that of a mockingbird.

In contrast to the many songbirds that choose a prominent perch from which to sing, the catbird often elects to sing from inside a bush or small tree, where it is obscured from view by the foliage.

Distribution and habitat

Native to most of

temperate North America east of the Rocky Mountains, gray catbirds migrate to the southeastern United States, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean in winter; except for the occasional vagrant they always stay east of the American Cordillera. They are extremely rare vagrants to western Europe. Normally present on the breeding grounds by May, most leave for winter quarters in September/October; as it seems, this species is increasingly extending its stay in the summer range, with some nowadays remaining until mid-winter as far north as Ohio.[7][12][13] The gray catbird is a migratory species. Spring migration ranges from March to May, and in the fall ranges from late August to November.[14]

The catbird tends to avoid dense, unbroken woodlands, and does not inhabit

scrub and myrtle swamp.[15] During the winter season, the catbird has an affinity for berry-rich thickets, especially within proximity of water sources.[14]

Behavior

Breeding

Their breeding

rural habitats. In the winter months they seem to associate with humans even more.[16] These birds mainly forage on the ground in leaf litter, but also in shrubs and trees. They mainly eat arthropods and berries. In the winter months, Cymbopetalum mayanum (Annonaceae) and Trophis racemosa (Moraceae) bear fruit well liked by this species, and such trees can be planted to attract the gray catbird into parks and gardens.[16]

They build a bulky cup nest in a shrub or tree, close to the ground. Eggs are light blue in color, and clutch size ranges from 1–5, with 2–3 eggs most common. Both parents take turns feeding the young birds.

Feeding

Gray catbirds are omnivores,[17] and approximately 50% of their diet is fruit and berries. They tend to peck more fruit than they can eat. They also eat mealworms, earthworms, beetles, and other bugs. In summer, gray catbirds will eat mostly ants, beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and moths. They also eat holly berries, cherries, elderberries, poison ivy, bay, and blackberries. They also often peck the eggs of other species of birds, but it is unknown if they do this to supplement their diet or to reduce competition for food from other birds.[18]

Predation and threats

The gray catbird can be attracted by "

brood parasitic brown-headed cowbird
(Molothrus ater) laid in their nests by pecking them.

This species is widespread and generally plentiful, though its reclusive habits often make it seem less common than it is. It is not considered threatened by the

IUCN due to its large range and numbers.[1][9]

On Bermuda however, gray catbirds were once very common, but their numbers have been greatly reduced in recent years by deforestation and nest predation by introduced species (including the

European starling Sturnus vulgaris). In the United States, this species receives special legal protections under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
.

Gallery

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22711013A94272855.en
    . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. S2CID 51797284
    .
  3. doi:10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03233.x. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2008-09-07.
  4. ^ Gray Catbird, BirdNature.com
  5. ^
    ISBN 0-19-864224-5
  6. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4
    .
  7. ^ a b c Olson, Storrs L. (1989). "The Original Description and Author of the Genus Dumetella (Mimidae)" (PDF). Wilson Bulletin. 101 (4): 633–637.
  8. ^ Woodhouse, S.C. (1910): English-Greek Dictionary – A Vocabulary of the Attic Language. George Routledge & Sons Ltd., Broadway House, Ludgate Hill, E.C.
  9. ^ a b c d Olson, Storrs L.; James, Helen F.; Meister, Charles A. (1981). "Winter field notes and specimen weights of Cayman Island Birds" (PDF). Bull. B.O.C. 101 (3): 339–346.
  10. ^ a b Gray catbird. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. allaboutbirds.org
  11. ISBN 978-0300090598
    .
  12. Wilson Bulletin
    . 18 (2): 47–60.
  13. ^ Ohio Ornithological Society (2004): Annotated Ohio state checklist Archived 2004-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^
    ISBN 978-0300090598
    . Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  15. ^
    ISBN 978-0300090598
    . Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  16. ^
    doi:10.1017/S0959270906000554
    .
  17. ^ "Dumetella carolinensis". www.fs.usda.gov. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  18. ^ "Gray catbird". Smithsonian's National Zoo. 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2023-05-19.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dumetella carolinensis.
Wikispecies has information related to Dumetella carolinensis.


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