In the Catbird’s seat, anyway the Gray Catbird
that is a bird you may have heard, and thought it was a cat meowing. In Fort Bend, Texas, it may be a nesting bird or a winter bird. Some may be year round.
Sometimes
hard to see much less photograph, this bird is related to the Mockingbird and
Brown Thrasher. Example in this photo, a shadow obscures the rusty undertail or rufous rump. The next picture clearly shows the rufous rump.
It is like the Mockingbird in that it is a great mimic and meow
is just one of its sounds it strings together—or it could be a cell phone ring
tone.
A song can be 10 minutes long. The males are extremely territorial and may sing one of these long songs perched in a tree proclaiming its territory, but that is less like its normal behavior preferring brush and thickets.
Unlike the Mockingbird, the Catbird
behaves more like a Brown Thrasher and can be normally found near a brush pile in thickets near understory trees or shrubbery-- skulking around. You may hear them foraging, but not see them. Clearing brush, threatens birds like the Gray Catbird.
It’s deep gray with a black
crown as well as a beautiful bit of rufous on its rump/under tail distinguish
it.
A ground forager, the Gray Catbird loves insects such as ants and beetles, but may eat fruits and berries as well. It also likes caterpillars, moths and midges.
To attract these beneficial birds to your garden, have many kinds and heights of plantings with some being thick with underbrush or vegetation near shrubs or understory trees. They like making very short flights.
Photos copyrighted by Quail Valley resident and international birder Margaret Sloan. View her international and national bird pictures by pressing this link.
See a bird you don't recognize in Fort Bend? Margaret has photographed 150+ bird species just in her suburban Fort Bend,Texas backyard alone. Narrow your initial search by viewing her full photo album of local birds, Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link. They are organized by types of birds, so if it's a water bird for example, you may find one that helps you narrow your search. Then if you "google in" the name of the bird, you'll get info and all kinds of information and images. Sometimes if a species is remarkably different from adult you may find nothing, contact us and we'll do our best to help.
Researched and posted by Janice Scanlan. Click photos to enlarge them.
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