The Gray Catbird is a familiar member of the
Sometimes the cat meowing from the bushes isn't a cat at all, but a catbird. The Gray Catbird, to be exact. Named after their distinctive cat-like “mew” call, Gray Catbirds are mimic thrushes, related to mockingbirds and thrashers. They can imitate a wide variety of noises, from songbirds to mammals to frogs.
The Gray Catbird is a medium-size songbird that can commonly be found across the eastern United States and Midwest. A frequent visitor to backyards, catbirds are often heard before they are seen, either flitting about in the brush or perched out in the open, singing proudly and loudly.
The Green Catbird (Ailuroedus crassirostris) of south-eastern Australia is a closely-related species which makes quite similar (and perhaps even more cat-like) calls!
Birds called catbirds include two species in the New World family, Mimidae, four from the bowerbird family, Ptilonorhynchidae, and one from the Old World babblers, Timaliidae.
The Green Catbird is found along the east coast of Australia, from south-eastern Queensland to southern New South Wales. Habitat: The Green Catbird is found in temperate and sub-tropical rainforest and paperbarks, and sometimes adjacent eucalypt forest.
The green catbird (Ailuroedus crassirostris) is a species of bowerbird found in subtropical forests along the east coast of Australia, from southeastern Queensland to southern New South Wales. It is named after its distinctive call which sounds like a cat meowing, although it has also been mistaken for a crying child.
The most common call is a raspy mew that sounds like a cat. Catbirds also make a loud, chattering chek-chek-chek and a quiet quirt.
Voice: The male Gray Catbird sings a long series of variable squeaks, whistles, and melodious notes. These notes can include imitations of other birds' songs, frogs, or even mechanical sounds. The call is a very cat-like mew.
Which bird makes this distinctive sound? It's a Kookaburra! The loud distinctive call of the laughing kookaburra is widely used as a stock sound effect in situations that involve an Australian bush setting or tropical jungle, especially in older movies.
The crested kittyhawk is a species of the drier uplands which only rarely enters the soglands. Little and fast-moving, it is mainly a predator of burrowing molodonts such as smols (pictured) and poppits.
Mockingbirds are bold in defense of their nests, attacking cats and even humans that venture too close.
Northern Mockingbirds are known to harass dogs and cats found in their territory by constantly diving and swooping at them. Northern Mockingbirds are known to open their wings to “flash” their large white wing patches while running or walking on the ground.
Like its relatives, the Gray Catbird mimics a variety of sounds, but this bird is best known for the cat-like mewing calls that give the species its common name.
Great Horned Owls are typically hooters. But, like other owls, it isn't their only sound. They may also scream, do a cat-like MEEE-Owww, bark, growl, shriek, and coo as well as produce wavering cries, hisses, and beak snaps.
It is also used with the choke call as a warning to intruders to get out of the territory. Often, but not always, mew occurs while the bird walks forward. While emitting the call, the head and neck form an arch, and the bill is open. The sound is a bit like a cat's meow.
Catbirds are the main culprit of making cat sounds, but owls are another possibility! Great horned owls make a meowing sound that can be described as cat-like. Here is a video with some of the distinctive sounds of a Great horned owl. Some birders have also reported that they have heard starlings making cat sounds.
Ecosystems around the planet host a surprising variety of night birds—from nightingales and mockingbirds to corncrakes, potoos, and whip-poor-wills—whose voices can be as haunting (or exciting) as any owl hoot. Their after-dark arias are staples in nature's dusk-to-dawn soundtrack.
If so, you have heard the Brown-headed Nuthatch. These tiny birds, which live in pine stands throughout the Southeastern U.S., are heard as often as seen … and their “wee-yah, wee-yah, wee-yah” call does sound amazingly like a squeaky dog toy. They also make a “queet” call and a high-pitched burbling chatter.
Lyrebirds are gorgeous creatures with an unusual trait–they vocalize like human babies! These aren't the only birds that make unusual sounds, but their cry may be the most troubling to hear if you don't know what it is!
ALWAYS IN SEASON: The gray catbird plays vocal tricks, sounds like a kitten.
Find This Bird
Listen for the distinctive mew call of the Gray Catbird, or for its imitation of several species during a long, seemingly improvised series of notes.
In fact the Plains-wanderer is so unusual, it is not just the only species in its genus, but also the only species in its entire family. That makes it as unique as the Numbat, Platypus or the extinct Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger).
With speckled, emerald green feathers and a deep red eye, these striking birds make for some great photographs. Catbirds belong to the bowerbird family (although they don't build bowers), and their genus name (Ailuroedus) literally means 'cat-singer' or 'cat-voiced'.
To persuade females to come close, the male lyrebird sings the most complex song he can manage. And he does that by copying the sounds of all the other birds he hears around him – including the sounds of chainsaws and camera shutters!