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Animal profile

Grey Catbird

Dumetella carolinensis

AvesDense shrubs, hedgerows, thickets and overgrown garden edgesLeast Concern

Field profile

The grey catbird is a slim slate-grey songbird with a black cap and a rufous patch beneath the tail. It skulks in dense cover and is named for its mewing call. Like its mockingbird relatives it is a mimic, but delivers copied phrases in a long rambling sequence.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2023-06-12

Grey Catbird

The catbird throws out cowbird eggs

Brown-headed cowbirds lay in the nests of hundreds of songbird species and most accept the foreign egg. The grey catbird is a strong rejecter, recognising the egg and puncturing or removing it before incubation is well under way.

Read with evidence →

Grey Catbird | Daily Animal Facts