This past weekend, at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, while I was trying to photograph a Bufflehead which kept its distance out on a pond, my wife pointed out a Gray Catbird in a tangle of vines from shrubs no more than 10 ft from us! It was jumping from branch to branch and paid no attention to us.
Once I got home and looked at the photos on the monitor screen, I saw that it was snacking on little red berries.
Once the berries were ingested, it appeared to be quite content.
This bird owes its name to the meewing sound that it uses for calling. That sound is not too pleasant, but when it sings, the notes are different, varied, and may go on for many minutes. It is able to copy from other birds and rearrange their songs into their own song repertoire. All in all, a bird lacking in colors and looks, but with very unique vocal abilities.
DG MARYOGA said:
Seeing the second photo and without having read your commentaries,I thought that the tip of its bill was red.Interesting post,lovely sweet birdies.Amazed at how they have harvested the berry tree ~
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neihtn2012 said:
Plus it’s a unique singer with melodious tunes!
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Pat said:
Lovely captures.
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BookOfBokeh said:
I love the way you pull the bird out of the shrubs by the creative use of bokeh.
Well, I would, wouldn’t I!? 🙂
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neihtn2012 said:
You would too, of course!
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BookOfBokeh said:
You know me well! 🙂
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cindy knoke said:
perfection!
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de Wets Wild said:
What an interesting bird Hien, and a songstress to boot!
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neihtn2012 said:
It is said that it can sing continuously for 10 minutes at a time, more tham some human singers!
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de Wets Wild said:
Now those are well trained vocal chords 😉
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thevenerable1 said:
Oh, I dunno, Hien – like I said once before … I can now find beauty in every one of them ! 🙂
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neihtn2012 said:
Thanks, M-R!
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Jo said:
Beautiful.
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you for visiting and commenting!
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Amy said:
Lovely, delightful… the clarity of the berry is incredible!
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neihtn2012 said:
Thanks Amy! It ate two berries in less than a second.
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Amy said:
High ss!! 🙂
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neihtn2012 said:
1/500 hand held, not too high.
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Sue Slaght said:
Love the photo with the berry!
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you, Sue!
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