Gray catbird | |
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Adult in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest New Jersey, USA |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Mimidae |
Genus: |
Dumetella C.T. Wood, 1837 |
Species: | D. carolinensis |
Binomial name | |
Dumetella carolinensis (Linnaeus, 1766) |
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Summer and winter range | |
Synonyms | |
Genus: Dumetella bermudianus Bangs & Bradlee, 1901 |
Genus:
Galeoscoptes Cabanis, 1850
Dumetella bermudianus Bangs & Bradlee, 1901
Dumetella carolinensis bermudianus Bangs & Bradlee, 1901 Dumetella carolinensis carolinensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
Dumetella felivox Vieillot, 1807
Galeoscoptes carolinensis Linnaeus, 1766
Muscicapa carolinensis Linnaeus, 1766
Turdus felivox Vieillot, 1807
The gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), also spelled grey catbird, is a medium-sized North American and Central American perching bird of the mimid family. It is the only member of the "catbird" genus Dumetella. Like the black catbird (Melanoptila glabrirostris), it is among the basal lineages of the Mimidae, probably a closer relative of the Caribbean thrasher and trembler assemblage than of the mockingbirds and Toxostoma thrashers. In some areas it is known as the slate-colored mockingbird.
The name Dumetella is based upon the Latin term dūmus ("thorny thicket"; it thus means approximately "small thornbush-dweller" or "small bird of the thornbushes". It refers to the species' habit of singing when hidden in undergrowth. The specific name carolinensis is New Latin for "from the Carolinas".