This is bird note.

Sometimes the cat meowing from the bushes isn't a cat at all, but a cat bird, the gray

cat bird, to be exact.

Named after their distinctive cat-like mew call, gray cat birds are mimic thrushes, related

to mockingbirds and thrashers.

They can imitate a wide variety of noises, from songbirds to mammals to frogs.

Males sing the loudest, but females sometimes respond with a quieter song of their own.

Female and male gray cat birds both have a dark cap on their heads and a rusty brown patch

under their long tails.

They breed throughout much of the U.S. and spend winter in Central America and the Caribbean.

Noisy and boisterous in the spring.

A migrating flock of cat birds can fill a city park with sound.

Cat birds are most at home in dense bushes and thickets.

They love eating berries and other fruits, but they've also been seen snacking on cheese

or a donut when they're available.

Gray cat birds are improvisers in the foods they eat and in their ever-changing songs.

For bird note, I'm Michael Stein.

Support for bird notes provided by the Bobbling Foundation and generous listeners around the world.