8.5 inches long. The Gray Catbird has an overall dark gray plumage. The crown and tail are black. The undertail coverts are chestnut. The bill is slender. The eyes are dark. The legs are black.
The Gray Catbird is a very common breeding bird in the Forest. It arrives by mid April and may be seen until mid November.
The Gray Catbird prefers dense shrubby vegetation. As a matter of fact its genus name of Dumetella means small thicket. Its diet consists of insects, invertebrates, and berries. It builds a bulky, open nest, usually within two meters of the ground. The Catbird is one of only a few species that recognize cowbird eggs and eject them from its nest. The song is rambling warble with distinctive mewing interspersed. The phrases are not repeated. The Gray Catbird was named for its mewing catlike call “mew”.
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