Several years ago, I was awakened nearly every day of late spring by a recurring – and very loud – bird sound. I say “sound,” rather than “song” because this particular noise was not so melodious as the cheery whistling of the robin or the musical trilling of the hermit thrush. It was more of a short squawk, repeated over and over again.
This, I discovered, was the call of a gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis). Over the years, catbirds have returned each spring to our yard, and I have come to enjoy their sounds – and the antics of these curious and loud birds. [Read more…] about The Gray Catbird: A Loud and Curious Bird