• Geobirds Local
• Identify Birds
• Birding Resources

Photo credit: Laura Erickson

Click for explorable range map

The Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) is a medium-sized perching bird of the Mimid family, the only member of genus Dumetella.

Adults are dark gray with a slim, black bill and dark eyes. They have a long dark tail, dark legs and a dark cap; they are rust-colored underneath their tail.

Their breeding habitat is semi-open areas with dense, low growth across most of North America. They are found in urban, suburban, and rural habitats. 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.

They migrate to the southeastern United States, Mexico and Central America. They are extremely rare vagrants to western Europe.

These birds forage on the ground in leaf litter. They mainly eat insects and berries.

They were named for their cat-like call, but they also mimic the songs of other birds.

In the United States, this species receives special legal protections under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

The Gray Catbird is not to be confused with nor is it related to the following four bird species of the family Ptilonorhynchidae, known as bowerbirds:

*White-eared Catbird, Ailuroedus buccoides
*Spotted Catbird, Ailuroedus melanotis ''
*Green Catbird,'' Ailuroedus crassirostris
*Tooth-billed Catbird, Ailuroedus dentirostris

Reference

*The Original Description and Author of the genus Dumetella