Our Backyard Gray Catbirds

The past few summers Becky and I have been enjoying a pair of GRAY CATBIRDS in our backyard. Generally speaking, they are pretty shy birds (but very vocal!). Earning a brief look meant catching them taking a dip and a splash in our birdbath. However, recently I discovered that they love orange flavored suet and can’t seem to get enough of the stuff (I suspect they are feeding it to their young, as well). They are such graceful and tidy birds, too - either catbird will cleanup the mess below by picking up chunks of suet that have fallen to the ground.



Whenever resident BLUE JAYS (generally 2 to 4 of them) visit the platform feeder for peanuts, one of the catbirds will pick a jay, chase it around through the trees and make loud screeching vocalizations – this is quite the spectacle! The jays seem to manage the catbirds pretty well by taking turns running interference. Once the ruckus is over the catbirds return to their suet runs.

Link: All about the Gray Catbird from Cornell Labs

Quote of the Day: “The question is not, ’Can they reason?’ nor, ‘Can they talk?’ but rather, ‘Can they suffer?’" - Jeremy Bentham

Gray Catbird images © 2005 Michael Allen McDowell