Catbirds get their name from a mewing call that sounds uncannily like a cat — they use it as a contact call between mates.
They're virtuoso mimics, weaving snippets of other birds' songs into their own.
Catbirds are one of the few backyard species that recognize and reject Brown-headed Cowbird eggs in their nest — they puncture and eject them.
Catbirds are easy to attract if you have dense shrubs — give them tangle and they'll take care of the rest.
A dense thicket or hedgerow is essential — they nest 3–10 ft up in heavy cover. Privet, honeysuckle, blackberry, dogwood, and elderberry are favorites.
Cut fruit on a tray feeder — orange halves, grape jelly, raisins. They take mealworms during nesting and suet in winter.
Shallow bird bath. They drink and bathe frequently.
An open-front shelf tucked deep into a thicket can be used, but they more often build their own nest in dense shrubs.
House Wrens are aggressive nest-destroyers and may peck catbird eggs. Spacing nest sites helps.
Don't prune dense shrubs during nesting season — catbird nests are often invisible until you stumble onto them.
An eastern thrush relative of the catbird family, breeding across temperate North America and wintering on the Gulf Coast and Caribbean.
Common breeder from southern Maine south through the Mid-Atlantic, west to the Great Plains.
Throughout the eastern Midwest west to eastern Montana.
Winters along the Gulf Coast, Florida, the Bahamas, and Greater Antilles.
Winters along the Caribbean slope of Mexico south to Panama.
Dense shrub thickets — hedgerows, brushy edges, abandoned fields, suburban gardens with mature shrub layers. They avoid open lawn and deep forest.
No entrance hole, no front wall — just a sheltered ledge. Includes drainage and the integrated mounting tab.
See the full lineupLong-distance migrant to Central America and the Caribbean. Highly territorial — one pair per ~2 acres of habitat.