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Gray Catbird

Status Fairly common in summer, very rare in winter. Breeds. Catbirds first appear in spring during late April or early May (average 1 May, earliest 16 April). They are widespread in shrubby growth on the mainland from late May to the second half of September but are uncommon on Cape Breton Island. Numbers migrate through September, but lingering catbirds are regular in October and November, and occasionally into early December. One attended a feeder at Sydney Mines, Cape Breton County, until 2 January 1972 and other late birds have been recorded on Christmas Bird Counts at Salmon River, Cape Breton County, in 1975; Yarmouth in 1976; and Wolfville in 1979, this last bird surviving until mid-January 1980.

Description Length: 21.5-23.5 cm. Adults: Entire plumage slate-gray, except black cap and tail, and chestnut undertail coverts.

Breeding Nest: Composed of twigs, with a lining of fine rootlets and, sometimes, dry leaves; placed in a thicket where it is well concealed by foliage, always at low heights. All but one of the many nests examined were in deciduous bushes. The exception was a nest placed in a small fir among bushes in a thicket of mixed growth, close to the trunk and about 2 m up. Eggs: 3-5, usually 4; rich greenish-blue. Laying begins in early June. On 26 May 1934 a male arrived in my garden in full song. On 10 June nest construction was started in a climbing rose beside a window of my house. Four eggs were laid, all of which hatched on 3 July. The young all left the nest on 16 July and stayed about the premises; by 28 July they were practically indistinguishable from their parents. On 11 June 1924 a nest at Black River, Kings County, well concealed in a blackberry tangle, contained four fresh eggs. On 29 June 1915 another at Wolfville, hidden in an alder thicket, held four fresh eggs.

Range Breeds from southern British Columbia, the central Prairie Provinces, southern Ontario, and Nova Scotia, south to the southern United States. Winters from the Gulf States to Cuba and Panama.

Remarks A most entertaining songster, the male has been credited with the ability to mimic other birds. This may be true, but I have failed to detect any noteworthy imitations when listening to his highly variable singing—and why should he try to imitate the melodies of his neighbours when his own are so good! When agitated he mews like a kitten; the similarity is so striking that one is sometimes at a loss as to whether the sound comes from cat or bird.

There are few nesting birds more desirable and few more discriminating in their choice of nesting locale than the catbird. The first and last requisite is thick shrubbery to hide the nest. If you have this to offer, he will likely appear in late May, announcing his arrival by song. Within a few days a mate will mysteriously appear and nesting will follow in early June. Catbirds usually raise two broods, with a new nest, usually near the first one, built for the second family. Thus the company of these delightful birds is ensured for practically the entire summer.

A Gray Catbird was banded as a juvenile in Pennsylvania on 18 August 1962 and found dead in Shelburne County on 7 October of the same year (H.F. Lewis). This illustrates the phenomenon of reverse fall migration, also evident in southern species that appear on our islands and coasts in autumn. Perhaps many of the very late records of our summer birds that normally winter further south, including Gray Catbirds, result from such reverse migration.