Episode 17: Gray Catbird – Voice of the Wild

This is Illinois Extension’s Voice of the Wild. A new wild voice in just a moment, so find someplace quiet, take a deep breath, and enjoy.

This bird is a mimid; it copies from the chorus around it, then repeats those borrowed notes as its own, usually hollered out from the backside of a brushy tangle. But every good artist puts a spin on their borrowed ideas, so rather than repeating a neighbor’s song wholesale, it’ll use just a few parts spread throughout a complex slurry of other partial calls. ITs black cap is the crown on a slate gray body, and though not always visible, it can have a rich chestnut patch beneath the tail. The call, which has a bit of a resemblance to the meow of a household cat, is the source of the bird’s name

This is the gray catbird, Dumetella carolinensis from the mimid family Mimidae. While the notes of its song are borrowed, the catbird’s voice is nonetheless unique. There’s a nasal, whining quality that comes through clearly in the call, which can also be heard in the song. Here’s the gray catbird again, this time with its meowlike call first

Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for our bird sounds. And thank you for tuning in to learn a new bird call with Illinois Extension.