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Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
©Charles H. Warren

Length: 7-9in.
Habitat: undergrowth in woodlands, hedgerows, brushy areas, suburbs, parks.

Often in the nesting season this trim bird is a close neighbor of man. Like the Mockingbird, the Gray Catbird is regarded as a mimic, but it is less an actual imitator than a plagiarist of musical ideas. As one listener put it, the catbird "suggests the songs of various birds—never delivers the notes in their way!" It burbles along, now loud, now soft, uttering a long run of squeaky phrases, seldom repeating itself. It gets its name from its call note—a petulant, catlike mew.