I miss seeing birds at our feeders since I stopped feeding them the other week – due to a request from a government program wanting to stop the gathering of various birds at feeders to stop a disease that is killing them. However, I am glad I have filed pictures in name groupings for the past few months.

When I put jelly out for orioles, I soon learned that Catbirds like fruit too.

I googled fun facts about Catbirds and learned the following things about them…

Grey Catbirds can be attracted to feeders with mealworms and fruit. They enjoy raisins and currants that have been soaked in water to plump them up.

Their call sounds like a cat mewing. They can often be heard or seen alone in thickets.

They are often heard before they are seen. They are secretive birds that dart into the bushes when approached. They are also very inquisitive and can sometimes be called back out of the bushes to check out a sound like kissing the back of your hand.

Catbirds are gray with a dark cap on their head and a dark eye.

Be sure to look for the rusty under-tail color that is not often seen.

Both sexes help build the nest but construction is done mainly by the female over five to six days. Breeding is May through August with an average clutch of four eggs.

The female incubates the eggs and will continue to sit on the nest during hatching.

Their average life span is 4-10 years.