Grey Catbird

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Grey Catbird in the UK

An extreme vagrant from North America with two accepted British records. The first was at South Stack, Anglesey, in early October 2001. It proved elusive. The second, a first-year bird, was at Treeve Moor near Land's End, Cornwall, from 15 to 29 October 2018 and drew large crowds. An earlier bird that arrived in Southampton aboard the liner Queen Elizabeth 2 in October 1998 was not accepted, because it had been helped on board ship. The species is in Category A of the British List.

Where and when to see a Grey Catbird

Both records were in October on west-facing headlands, which is the classic pattern for American landbirds blown across the Atlantic by fast-moving autumn storms. The Isles of Scilly, west Cornwall, Pembrokeshire, Anglesey, the Outer Hebrides and Shetland are the places with form for such birds. A catbird would keep to dense cover: bramble, blackthorn, sallows and overgrown gardens with berries. Expect long waits and brief views. News of any new bird would go out nationally at once.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Dense scrub (very rare vagrant).
Diet: Berries, insects.
Field note: Cat-like mewing call.

How to identify a Grey Catbird

A slim bird a little smaller than a Blackbird, with a long tail. It is plain slate-grey all over with a neat black cap, a black tail and a patch of deep chestnut under the tail that is often hidden. The bill, eye and legs are dark. It skulks low in thick bushes, flicks and cocks its tail, and hops out briefly to take berries. No British bird shares the all-grey body, black cap and rusty undertail, so a good view settles it.

Call and song

Named for its call: a nasal, whining, cat-like 'mew' given from deep cover. It also gives a soft 'quirt' and a harsh chatter. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Blackbird: A female or young Blackbird is bigger, browner and dumpier, with no black cap and no chestnut under the tail.
• Northern Mockingbird: Mockingbird is paler grey with white wing patches and white outer tail feathers, and sits in the open.

Related guide Rare birds in the UK.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Grey Catbird is a Legendary tier bird, worth +50 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Where to see it

Reserves where the Grey Catbird is on the list:

• RSPB South Stack

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Black-faced BuntingLegendary · Coastal scrub (very rare vagrant)
• Brown FlycatcherLegendary · Coastal scrub (very rare vagrant)
• Brown ThrasherLegendary · Scrub (very rare vagrant)
• Siberian RubythroatEpic · Coastal scrub (very rare vagrant)
• American BitternLegendary · Reedbeds (very rare vagrant)
• American CootLegendary · Lakes (very rare vagrant)

Grey Catbird: quick answers

Has a Grey Catbird ever been seen in the UK?

Yes, twice. One was at South Stack on Anglesey in October 2001 and one near Land's End in Cornwall in October 2018. The Cornish bird stayed for two weeks.

Where can I see a Grey Catbird in the UK?

You cannot unless another arrives. Your best odds are to be on Scilly or in west Cornwall in mid October after strong westerlies, when American vagrants are most likely. In eastern North America it is a common garden and scrub bird.

What does a Grey Catbird eat?

About half its diet is fruit and berries, and the rest is insects such as beetles, ants, caterpillars and moths. A vagrant in Britain in October would feed on blackberries, elderberries and similar hedgerow fruit.

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