Gray catbirds usually stay hidden in dense bushes, so we hear them more than we see them. They make a catlike mewing sound that gives them their common name. The one in the photo came out of hiding to scold my cat. They are creative singers, too; they imitate the songs of other birds, and sometimes the sounds of machines and people.
The catbird, Dumetella carolinensis, is about 9 inches long, and gray, with a dark cap on the head, and a black tail with a chestnut-colored patch underneath.
They are summer birds in New York City, where they nest in places as urban as my Brooklyn garden -- within sight of the Manhattan skyline.
There is more information about urban birds in my book, A Field Guide to Urban Wildlife of North America, which will be published by Stackpole Books in spring 2011.
Typically gray catbirds do seem shy. But this year I have a catbird that is down right sociable. When I'm working in the garden it will often perch within a few feet and sing like crazy. Then it flies down and picks insects out of the mulch. The only time it gets testy is when I am near the tree it is nesting in.
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