Grey Catbird At Ashbridge’s Bay Park In Toronto

At the peak of bird migration one spring, Bob and I headed to Ashbridge’s Bay on the Lake Ontario waterfront in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Among the several bird species that we sighted was this Grey Catbird.

We spotted this Catbird in a small stand of Staghorn Sumac.  The bird was blissfully singing in the noonday sun.

A week or so earlier, a Grey Catbird had landed briefly in a birch tree in our backyard. That catbird moved to our water fountain for a drink, but something spooked it, so the only decent photo we got was this one above.

A Catbird’s song imitates a cat’s meow, but these birds also mimic other bird songs as well as the chirping of tree frogs and even mechanical sounds.  Once heard, you will always remember their call, and it is easy to track them by following their vocalizations.  Most songbirds will sing from an obvious perch rather than an obscure position in amongst tangled vines; Catbirds opt for obscurity and prefer to be hidden by foliage.

Grey Catbirds are a dull slate grey, slightly paler on the underparts, with a recognizable black cap, blackish tail and chestnut-coloured feathers under the tail.

As we circled the thicket of sumac bushes, the Catbird hopped from branch to branch, moved onto the ground and then regained a perch near the top of one of the sumac. There is no way to differentiate between male and female Catbirds since they look the same.

When the Catbird lit amongst the leaf litter at the base of the sumac shrubs, it promptly began foraging for food by using its beak to upend twigs and leaves in search of whatever insects might lay below. These birds are omnivores and also consume berries and fruits, preferably those that have fallen to the ground, during late summer and into the fall.

This Grey Catbird finally moved off from the sumac to an adjacent tree, and that is where we left it when we headed off for lunch.

Frame To Frame – Bob and Jean