The Third Mimic

A couple weeks ago I posted about 2 of New Jersey's 3 most common bird mimics that I saw back on May 3. Only 2 days later in May I encountered several of the 3rd mimic, the Gray Catbird. During warmer months [1], these guys are perhaps the easiest of our bird mimics to notice, though it's not usually because of their mimicry. I almost always notice them from their calls - sort of a squawky mewing sound [2] - than their songs - a long sequence of mimicked sounds [3]. 

Gray Catbirds do have a crisp-look about them, and are a soft gray except for a dark patch on the top of their heads.

The 1st 2 pictures show the catbirds vocalizing, though it wouldn't shock me if the 3rd 1 had been vocalizing when I spotted it. 


May 5, 2023 at Duke Island Park
Photo 282300923, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

May 5, 2023 at Duke Island Park
Photo 282301086, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

May 5, 2023 at Duke Island Park
Photo 282301126, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

[1] Though maps suggest that Gray Catbirds are here all year round, sightings plummet in the colder months; I wouldn't expect to find them in New Jersey between November and March.

[2] The squawky mewing kinda sounds like a cat, though my guess is that they don't fool many cats with it.

[3] While Northern Mockingbirds like to mimic a sound 3 times before moving on to their next mimicked sound, and the Brown Thrasher does this twice, the Gray Catbird mimics only once before moving on to the next sound. These habits can make it possible to distinguish between these 3 birds by their songs.

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