The under-appreciated songster who enjoys a free lunch

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 19 May 2011 10:41

An under-appreciated bird is the Gray Catbird.

Just its name seems unpleasant.

Gray, after all, is probably the most boring “color” in the spectrum. And “catbird” evokes images of a predator that kills millions of songbirds a year.

However, the catbird is one of the real treats of spring mornings. Like its close cousin, the Northern Mockingbird, the catbird has a vast repertoire of songs, many of which it may pick up by copying the sounds of other birds. It will sit in a shrub and sing its heart out, each burst different from the last (unlike the mockingbird, which usually repeats each songlet two or three times before moving on to the next).

And every so often, amid the litany of songs, the catbird throws in a “mew” that many have likened to the cry of a cat. Hence, the name.

“Morning spent with a catbird,” writes Deb Bender of Cos Cob, who took the accompanying picture. “He sang his heart out while in my Witch Hazel, then took a bath. I was just six feet away from him.”

Why do catbirds, mockingbirds and other “mimic thrushes” rattle off vast collections of songs of other birds — and even other things, such as police sirens, telephone ringtones, and car alarms?

One theory is it’s trying to establish a nesting territory as free as possible of competing birds of all species.

Most spring songs are efforts to attract mates and/or to signal to other birds that a territory is being established. Territories are important, not only for protecting the nests from possible predators, avian or otherwise, but also for limiting the number of birds seeking food within a small area. After all, if you are setting up a nest that will have three, four or more mouths to feed, you are going to need a lot of food nearby.

It apparently is working well. Gray Catbirds were once on the decline in our region — and still are in some places. But hereabouts, at least, they have been increasing in numbers. That may be due in part to ideal habitat — catbirds do well in the kind of vegetation we have in suburbia — trees, shrubs and yards. Mockingbirds, on the other hand, seem to like more open spaces — old fields and big yards, and those have been declining, along with the mockers, except perhaps along the coastline. (Nonetheless, mockingbirds are more common here today than 40 years ago, and their range has been moving northward as the climate warms.)

One other thing about catbirds: They are among the “friendliest” songbirds. Like chickadees, they seem less afraid of humans than other species.

Deb Bender experienced that. “A few years ago, I enlarged a perennial bed,” she said. “It was a wet area. Each trowel full of soil was filled with nice, fat worms. A catbird took note. I tossed a worm over and the bird picked it up, then returned a few moments later. This went on for quite some time.

“I appreciated the interspecies relationship and the bird enjoyed a free lunch.”

Sightings

Bruce Beebe of the Weir Preserve in Wilton, who organizes the annual spring bird walk that took place May 8 this year, said leader Frank Gallo “was at his best; he used his Barred Owl call to draw in other birds — not just crows — and it worked.”

Nancy Faesy of Wilton kept a list of what was seen (this is not in any order): Canada Goose, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Canada Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, Blue Jay, Warbling Vireo, Yellow Throated Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Black-capped Chickadee, Hairy Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Wild Turkey, Song Sparrow, Scarlet Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Northern Flicker, Red-wing Blackbird, Wood Thrush, Grackle, Mourning Dove, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Goldfinch, Broad-winged Hawk, Eastern Kingbird, House Finch, Mallard Duck, Black-throated Green Warbler, Veery, Catbird, Great Crested Flycatcher, Chirping Sparrow, American Crow, White-throated Sparrow, Ovenbird, Gnatcatcher, Common Yellowthroat, Robin, White-breasted Nuthatch, Herring Gull, Cowbird, Bluebird, Northern Waterthrush, and Louisiana Waterthrush.

Not bad for a bird walk of a couple of hours!

Bird banding

Led by naturalist Tait Johansson, Bedford Audubon is participating in the continent-wide Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship program, which provides critical information on the ecology, conservation, and management of North American land bird populations. Banding takes place every 10 days or so from early June to the first week in August. If you are interested in attending one of these sessions to see what goes on, put your name on the call list. See www.bedfordaudubon.org/banding for details.

Coming up

Bird walk with Ed Kanze, author and columnist, Saturday, May 21, 7:30 a.m., meeting at the Trailside Museum, Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Cross River, N.Y.

Field Trip to Doodletown Road, Stony Point, N.Y. with Bedford Audubon Naturalist Tait Johansson, Saturday, May 21, 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., depart Bylane Farm, 35 Todd Road, Katonah at 6:30 A.M. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (914) 232-4806, bedfordaudubon.org

Birds in their Habitats, workshop that includes info on Audubon at Home and Important Bird Area programs, Saturday, May 28, 9:30 a.m. to noon, $12 adults, kids free, RSVP Ted: 203-869-5272 x230, Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road, greenwich.audubon.org

Early morning bird walks, various locations, Tuesdays, May 24 and 31, Thursday, May 21, 7:30 to 9:30, Bedford Audubon, for details bedfordaudubon.org

Bird Tours, with Connecticut Audubon, Connecticut Lakes, N.H., June 2 to 5; Golden-Wings! Saturday, June 4, 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Cruisin’ For Osprey Chicks (boat trips on the Connecticut River); Iceland, June; Nova Scotia, July; California, September; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 860-767-0660.

Copyright 2011 by Jack Sanders. Send sightings or comments to: jackfsanders [at sign] yahoo.com, or to Bird Notes, Box 1019, Ridgefield, CT 06877; or call 203-438-1183, extension BIRD (2473), and leave a message with your report, spelling your first and last names and telling us your town. If you need help identifying a bird, try your local nature center. If you find an injured bird, call wildlife rehabilitator Darlene Wimbrow of Redding, 203-438-0618, Wildlife in Crisis of Weston, 203-544-9913, or Wild Wings of Greenwich, 203-637-9822. The columnist’s website is www. sandersbooks. com.