Dumetella carolinensis, gray catbird
Sullivan, Janet. 1994. Dumetella carolinensis, gray catbird. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/duca
| Abbreviation | Common Name | Scientific Name | Classification | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animals | ||||
| DUCA | gray catbird | Dumetella carolinensis | Life Form: Animals/Bird Kingdom: Animalia Class: Bird Order: Passeriformes Family: Mimidae Genus: Dumetella | Fed. Protected: No Nativity: Native Invasiveness: Noninvasive |
Taxonomy
The currently accepted scientific name of gray catbird is Dumetella carolinensis (L.). It is a member of the mimic-thrush family (Mimidae). There are no accepted subspecies [7,34].
Synonyms
- None
Other Common Names
grey catbird, common catbird, northern catbird
General Distribution
The gray catbird breeds from southern British Columbia, southern Ontario, and Nova Scotia south to central New Mexico and northern Florida; west to northern and south-central Washington, south-central and eastern Oregon, north-central Utah, and central and northeastern Arizona. Its winter range extends from north-central and eastern Texas, the central portions of the Gulf States, and Atlantic coastal lowlands from Long Island south to the Gulf-Caribbean slope of Central America [7].
States and Provinces
- United States: AL AZ AR CO CT DE FL GA ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY
- Canada: BC NS SK
- Mexico
Plant Communities
The gray catbird occurs in a wide variety of plant communities. Physiognomy rather than cover type appears to be the dominant factor in habitat preference; forest edge is preferred to hedgerows in the open [18]. Riparian areas are heavily favored [6]. In the Southeast, the heaviest breeding densities occur in sapling-poletimber stages of elm (Ulmus spp.)-ash (Fraxinus spp.)-cottonwood (Populus spp.) types, and the highest winter densities occur in shrub-seedling stages of maritime live oak (Quercus virginiana) [11]. Breininger [4] reported the presence of wintering gray catbirds in Florida swale marshes. In New England, the gray catbird is rare at high elevations [6]. In western North Dakota, gray catbirds forage and nest in cottonwood types [12]. In Saskatchewan, gray catbirds were observed in aspen (Populus spp.) with shrub understory [13]. In Oregon, primary gray catbird foraging use occurs in tall sagebrush (Artemisia spp.)/bunchgrass, squaw apple (Peraphyllum ramosissimum)/bunchgrass, curlleaf mountain-mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius var. ledifolius)/bunchgrass, curlleaf mountain-mahogany/pinegrass (Calamagrostis rubescens) and other brush communities. Primary reproductive use occurs in quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)/grass, quaking aspen/mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana)/bunchgrass, and riparian areas [16].
Plant species commonly used by gray catbirds include multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), barberries (Berberis spp.), lilacs (Syringa spp.), mockorange (Philadelphus spp.), osage-orange (Maclura pomifera), and various conifers [7,25].
Biological Characteristics
Development and Reproduction
- Breeding Season: The gray catbird breeds from late April to mid-August, with the peak season occurring from mid-May to mid-June [11]. The nest is a ragged mass of sticks, weed stems, grasses, leaves, and twigs. The cup may be lined with pine needles, rootlets, fine shreds of bark, and horsehair [25]. In New York, eggs were laid from May 5 to June 13 [6]. In Ontario, egg dates ranged from May 2 to August 18 [19]. The gray catbird raises two or more consecutive broods in one season [6].
- Clutch Size: The average clutch size is four, but ranges from three to five eggs [11].
- Development: Eggs are incubated for 12 to 15 days [2,6]. The female is usually the sole incubating parent and is fed by the male [2]. The young usually remain in the nest for 11 days; the nestling stage ranges from 9 to 15 days. The gray catbird is sexually mature at 1 year [6].
- Migration: The southward migration of gray catbird begins early in the fall, soon after the young leave the nest [15]. During one fall study period as many as 725 gray catbirds were reported at Dauphin Island, Alabama in a single day [39]. In the spring, males arrive on nesting grounds prior to the females [25]. Gray catbirds were the second most frequently captured species in the spring in a study area on the Fort Morgan Peninsula, Alabama [39]. Banded birds usually return to the place of banding. There is variation in the constancy of mating; some catbird pairs raise consecutive broods in the same season and remain paired in subsequent seasons. Other pairs raise one brood and then find new mates, although the male appears to remain constant to a territory [2].
- Longevity: Maximum longevity is 10 years [25]. Average longevity is around 2.5 years [2].
Predators
Snakes are major predators on gray catbird nestlings, as are rats, foxes, and domestic cats. Other nest molesters include common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula), brown thrasher (Toxostoma rufum), and northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). Adult catbirds are taken by northern harrier (Circus cyaneus), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), and long-eared owl (Asio otus) [2]. Toland [26] listed a gray catbird as a nesting season prey item for a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis).
Habitat
Diet
The gray catbird is primarily a leaf-gleaner [36]. About half of the diet is insects; the fleshy fruits of woody shrubs constitute most of the remainder of the diet [7,15].
Animal foods include ants, beetles, crickets and grasshoppers, bugs, cankerworms and other smooth caterpillars, caterpillars of gypsy moth and brown-tailed moth, aphids, miscellaneous other insects, and spiders [15,25].
Plant foods (fruit) include blackberries (Rubus spp.), cherries (Prunus spp.) including chokecherry (P. virginiana), hollies (Ilex spp.), bayberries (Myrica spp.), greenbriers (Smilax spp.), poison-ivy (Toxicodendron spp.), buckthorns (Rhamnus spp.), tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica), Missouri gooseberry (Ribes missouriense), American elder (Sambucus canadensis), blueberries (Vaccinium spp.), baneberry (Actaea rubra), dogwoods (Cornus spp.), and buffaloberries (Shepherdia spp.) [14,15,17,29,36,37].
Preferred Habitat
The gray catbird uses dense thickets of shrubby edge habitat for both nesting and foraging. Any area of dense shrubs, briars, or vines along woodland borders appears to be suitable [7]. The habitat niche breadth is fairly large, meaning that gray catbirds use a wide variety of foliage densities and shrub layers. The gray catbird is also found in dry marsh edges, roadside shrubs, abandoned fields, and fencerows [7].
Sample gray catbird densities are as follows: In New York, one nest per 8 acres (3.2 ha) (80 pairs per square mile [31/sq km]) was reported for mixed shrub-small tree stages in beech (Fagus spp.)-maple (Acer spp.)-hemlock (Tsuga spp.) forest [6]. In North Dakota, 40 pairs per square mile (15 per sq km) were observed in favorable habitat [22], and in Maryland, 80 males were counted for 100 acres (40 ha) in shrub swamp habitat [23]. In Iowa, there was a positive relationship between gray catbird density and sapling richness, tree size, and tree patchiness, and a negative relationship with tree density [21].
Cover Requirements
The gray catbird uses dense, shrubby vegetation for all activities. Nests are usually constructed about 5 feet (1.5 m) [6] above the ground, with a range of 3 to 10 feet (1-3 m) above the ground in dense, leafy shrubs or vines [7]. In Iowa riparian habitat, 72 out of 97 nests were constructed in shrubs, 11 were found in deciduous saplings, and 14 in deciduous trees [21].
Fire-caused Mortality
There was no information in the literature related to fire-caused mortality of gray catbirds. Adult birds probably easily escape fire; nests and young are vulnerable to fire.
Fire Effects on Habitat
In Florida, gray catbirds preferred unburned areas to recently burned coastal scrub and slash pine (Pinus elliottii) flatwoods. Gray catbird density increased with postfire age, from 0.1 per acre (0.25/ha) on 1-year plots to 0.6 per acre (1.5/ha) on 10-year (or older) plots [5]. Also in Florida, a 20-year-old slash pine stand was prescribed burned with a moderate-severity fire in December, 1967. Ground cover and dead grass litter were almost entirely consumed, most shrubs were defoliated and burned back, and small pines were scorched; the foliage of medium and large-sized trees was scarcely touched. In the first 5 postfire months, there were slightly more gray catbirds in the unburned area than in the burned area. Most of the gray catbirds observed in both burned and unburned areas were within 100 feet (30 m) of the burned/unburned boundary [8].
In general, fires that result in an increase in shrubby vegetation and vines will increase available habitat for gray catbirds. Frequent fire that reduces the shrub layer will decrease available habitat for gray catbirds. Where fire exclusion leads to a decrease in patchiness, edge, or shrubby vegetation, gray catbird habitat may decline.
Fire Regimes
For fire regime information, search FEIS for this species by entering the species name on the Advanced Search page and selecting “Fire Regime” as the publication type.
Fire Management Considerations
In central Pennsylvania management of even-aged aspen stands for ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is also suitable for gray catbirds. Management for ruffed grouse includes the creation of brushy, edge conditions that are favored by gray catbirds. This management often includes the use of prescribed fire [31].
Federal Status
None
Other Status
No entry.
Other Management Information
Gray catbirds were rated as tolerant of habitat alteration; they do not require a specific habitat and are able to make use of less-highly-preferred habitat, albeit at lower densities [21].
In Pennsylvania, gray catbirds were present in clearcut stands of aspens and oak-pine. They were observed to use the edges of stands more often than interiors (defined as more than 83 feet [25 m] from the interface), and preferred older stands [30]. Nongame bird densities were censused in bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata)-quaking aspen-pitch pine (Pinus rigida), and in bear oak (Quercus ilicifolia)-dwarf chinkapin oak (Q. prinoides)/blueberry stands that were uncut, 50 percent clearcut, or 75 percent clearcut. Length of time since treatment was 2, 6, or 12 years. Gray catbirds were encountered more often than expected in 75 percent clearcut aspen stands and were not encountered in uncut stands of either aspens or oaks. Within the 50 percent clearcut stands, gray catbirds were more common in 12-year-old stands of both aspens and oak-pine than in 2-year-old stands [32].
Stauffer and Best [21] made the following predictions about the effect of habitat alteration on gray catbird density:
- conversion of woody vegetation to hayfield or pasture will eliminate gray catbird
- reduction of woody vegetation to narrow strips along streams will reduce gray catbird density
- partial removal of the canopy will increase gray catbird density
- thinning of shrub and sapling layers will reduce gray catbird density.
The authors were unable to make a prediction for the effect of partial canopy removal with shrub thinning, since the separate treatments have opposite effects [21].
Tall structures create a hazard to migrating gray catbirds because most migration occurs at night [25]. Structures listed as hazards include lighthouses and the Washington Monument [2].
Nest Parasitism: Gray catbirds are infrequent hosts to brown-headed cowbirds. Gray catbirds will eject eggs of other species that are found in the nest [25]. However, if a naive gray catbird is exposed to a brown-headed cowbird egg before her own eggs are laid, she will "learn" the cowbird egg, eject her own eggs, and rear the cowbird chick [38].
Table A1— Forest and range ecosystems, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) physiographic regions, Kuchler plant associations, Society for American Foresters (SAF) forest cover types, and Society for Rangeland Management (SRM) rangeland cover types in which this species occurs.
Forest and Range Ecosystems (Garrison et al. 1977)
- FRES10 White-red-jack pine
- FRES11 Spruce-fir
- FRES12 Longleaf-slash pine
- FRES13 Loblolly-shortleaf pine
- FRES14 Oak-pine
- FRES15 Oak-hickory
- FRES16 Oak-gum-cypress
- FRES17 Elm-ash-cottonwood
- FRES18 Maple-beech-birch
- FRES19 Aspen-birch
- FRES20 Douglas-fir
- FRES21 Ponderosa pine
- FRES22 Western white pine
- FRES26 Lodgepole pine
- FRES29 Sagebrush
BLM Physiographic Regions (Bernard and Brown 1977)
- 5 Columbia Plateau
- 6 Upper Basin and Range
- 8 Northern Rocky Mountains
- 9 Middle Rocky Mountains
- 10 Wyoming Basin
- 11 Southern Rocky Mountains
- 12 Colorado Plateau
- 13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
- 14 Great Plains
- 15 Black Hills Uplift
- 16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
Kuchler Plant Associations (Kuchler 1964)
- K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
- K013 Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
- K022 Great Basin pine forest
- K024 Juniper steppe woodland
- K032 Transition between K031 and K037
- K037 Mountain-mahogany - oak scrub
- K038 Great Basin sagebrush
- K039 Blackbrush
- K040 Saltbush - greasewood
- K094 Conifer bog
- K095 Great Lakes pine forest
- K098 Northern floodplain forest
- K099 Maple - basswood forest
- K100 Oak - hickory forest
- K101 Elm - ash forest
- K102 Beech - maple forest
- K103 Mixed mesophytic forest
- K104 Appalachian oak forest
- K105 Mangrove
- K106 Northern hardwoods
- K110 Northeastern oak - pine forest
- K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
- K112 Southern mixed forest
- K113 Southern floodplain forest
- K114 Pocosin
- K115 Sand pine scrub
- K116 Subtropical pine forest
SAF Cover Types (Eyre 1980)
- 16 Aspen
- 17 Pin cherry
- 18 Paper birch
- 19 Gray birch - red maple
- 24 Hemlock - yellow birch
- 25 Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
- 26 Sugar maple - basswood
- 27 Sugar maple
- 28 Black cherry - maple
- 39 Black ash - American elm - red maple
- 45 Pitch pine
- 60 Beech - sugar maple
- 61 River birch - sycamore
- 62 Silver maple - American elm
- 63 Cottonwood
- 65 Pin oak - sweetgum
- 69 Sand pine
- 70 Longleaf pine
- 73 Southern redcedar
- 75 Shortleaf pine
- 79 Virginia pine
- 80 Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
- 81 Loblolly pine
- 83 Longleaf pine - slash pine
- 84 Slash pine
- 87 Sweetgum - yellow-poplar
- 88 Willow oak - water oak - diamondleaf oak
- 89 Live oak
- 91 Swamp chestnut oak - cherrybark oak
- 92 Sweetgum - willow oak
- 93 Sugarberry - American elm - green ash
- 94 Sycamore - sweetgum - American elm
- 95 Black willow
- 96 Overcup oak - water hickory
- 97 Atlantic white-cedar
- 98 Pond pine
- 105 Tropical hardwoods
- 108 Red maple
- 109 Hawthorn
- 105 Tropical hardwoods
- 106 Mangrove
- 111 South Florida slash pine
- 215 Western white pine
- 218 Lodgepole pine
- 238 Western juniper
SRM Rangeland Cover Types (Shiflet 1994)
- No entry
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