Gray Catbirds
Dumetella carolinensis
Gray Catbird · Prospect Park · 23 May 2026
Two catbirds facing off at close range in a Prospect Park thicket, bills open. Catbirds are birds of dense shrubbery across the eastern half of the continent, and in May the park's undergrowth is full of them, just back from the Gulf coast and sorting out territories.
More likely a dispute between rivals than a courtship exchange, given the raised wing and confrontational posture of the bird on the left. The name comes from the catbird's mewing, almost feline alarm call, quite unlike the varied and musical song it also sings; the rust-coloured patch under the tail, hidden here, is the other reliable field mark.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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