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Gray Catbird

Dumetella carolinensis

Description:

Adults weigh around 35–40 g (1.2–1.4 oz)[3] and are plain lead gray almost all over. The top of the head is darker. The undertail coverts are rust-colored and the remiges and rectrices are black, some with white borders. The slim bill, the eyes, and the legs and feet are also blackish. Males and females cannot be distinguished by their looks; different behaviours in the breeding season is usually the only clue to the observer. Juveniles are even plainer in coloration, with buffy undertail coverts.

Habitat:

The Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), also spelled Grey Catbird, is a medium-sized northern American perching bird of the mimid family. It is the only member of the "catbird" genus Dumetella. Like the Black Catbird (Melanoptila glabrirostris), it is among the basal lineages of the Mimidae, probably a closer relative of the Caribbean thrasher and trembler assemblage than of the mockingbirds and Toxostoma thrashers.[1] In some areas it is known as the Slate-colored Mockingbird. On Bermuda however, Gray Catbirds were once very common, but their numbers have been greatly reduced in recent years by deforestation and nest predation by introduced species (including the Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus and the European Starling Sturnus vulgaris). In the United States, this species receives special legal protections under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

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LucBertrand
Spotted by
LucBertrand

Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada

Spotted on May 25, 2012
Submitted on May 25, 2012

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Reference

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