Exuberant Catbird

A Gray Catbird that has taken up residency in an overgrown tangle of vines and shrubs in our side yard has been quite vociferous of late. Over the past two weekends, I have heard its exuberant outbursts even during the hottest parts of the day. Is such behavior at this late date in the nesting season indicative of (a) a male whose mate is incubating a second or third clutch of eggs, or (b) a bachelor male who has been unsuccessful in attracting a mate? I’m not sure. But either way, the musical choruses have made the heat and humidity of early August seem somewhat less oppressive. It’s easy to see why early naturalists and bird enthusiasts waxed so poetically about the musical abilities of our native mimic thrushes.

Credits: The catbird image is by Elizabeth Carey, as posted at Flickr.