Gray catbird
Gray catbird Temporal range:
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Adult in Brooklyn, New York, USA | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Mimidae |
Genus: | Dumetella C.T. Wood, 1837 |
Species: | D. carolinensis
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Binomial name | |
Dumetella carolinensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
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Approximate distribution map
Breeding
Migration
Year-round
Nonbreeding
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Synonyms | |
Genus: |
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 species was first described by
The
Shaw (and subsequently C.T. Wood) used
Though mimids were widely considered
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)
Vocalizations
This species is named for its cat-like call. Like many members of the
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
The catbird tends to avoid dense, unbroken woodlands, and does not inhabit
Behavior
Breeding
Their breeding
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 "
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
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
Gallery
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Gray catbird in Prospect Park
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Calling at Naperville Riverwalk, Illinois
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Adult voicing cat-like sounds at Wildwood Preserve Metropark, Ohio
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In a crab apple tree in New York
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Nest and egg in a cedar shrub 4 ft above the ground
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In Belize
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Feeding on custard apple (Annona reticulata)
References
- ^ . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- S2CID 51797284.
- doi:10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03233.x. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2008-09-07.
- ^ Gray Catbird, BirdNature.com
- ^ ISBN 0-19-864224-5
- ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ a b c Olson, Storrs L. (1989). "The Original Description and Author of the Genus Dumetella (Mimidae)" (PDF). Wilson Bulletin. 101 (4): 633–637.
- ^ Woodhouse, S.C. (1910): English-Greek Dictionary – A Vocabulary of the Attic Language. George Routledge & Sons Ltd., Broadway House, Ludgate Hill, E.C.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Gray catbird. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. allaboutbirds.org
- ISBN 978-0300090598.
- Wilson Bulletin. 18 (2): 47–60.
- ^ Ohio Ornithological Society (2004): Annotated Ohio state checklist Archived 2004-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ISBN 978-0300090598. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ^ ISBN 978-0300090598. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ^ .
- ^ "Dumetella carolinensis". www.fs.usda.gov. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
- ^ "Gray catbird". Smithsonian's National Zoo. 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
External links
- Gray Catbird Species Account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Explore Species: Gray Catbird at eBird (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
- Gray Catbird – Dumetella carolinensis – USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Bermuda Online: Bermudian Fauna.
- Catbird at BirdHouses101.com
- Life Histories of Familiar North American Birds: Gray Catbird.
- Gray Catbird stamps[usurped] (for Grenadines of Grenada, Turks and Caicos Islands) at bird-stamps.org
- Gray Catbird photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
- Gray Catbird Bird Sound at Florida Museum of Natural History