Episode Number
17
Episode Show Notes / Description
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis).
A mimid, this slate-gray bird copies from its neighbors and sings a mishmash of the whole neighborhood’s songs all from one spot. The Gray catbird is a bit of a lurker, often sticking to the low brush and the back of thickets. Listen out for the meow-like call for which it is named!
Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. From time to time, we’ll also do a deep dive into wildlife science, news, and natural history. Voice of the Wild is brought to you by the University of Illinois Extension Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy program.
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The following Cornell Lab | Macaulay Library recordings were used in this episode:
Gray Catbird Songs and Calls by Wil Hershberger (Song ML508753, Song ML508752, and Call ML508755)
Sources and more:
- https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray_Catbird
- https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/gray-catbird
- Sibley, David. Sibley Birds East: Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America. Second edition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016. Print.
- Peterson, Roger Tory, and Virginia Marie Peterson. A Field Guide to the Birds: A Completely New Guide to All the Birds of Eastern and Central North America. Fourth edition, completely revised and enlarged. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980. Print.
- Dobson, Colin et al. Field Guide to Hotspots and Birds in Illinois. Champaign-Urbana: Scissortail LLC, 2023. Print.
- Godfrey, Michael A, John Farrand, and Roger Tory Peterson. Videoguide to the Birds of North America. New York, N.Y: MasterVision, 1985. Film.
Transcript
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.
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.