Catbird

For other uses, see Catbird (disambiguation).

White-eared Catbird

Gray Catbird

A Gray Catbird voicing cat-like sounds at Wildwood Preserve Metropark, Ohio, USA

Several unrelated groups of songbirds are called catbirds because of their wailing calls, which resemble a cat's meowing. The genus name Ailuroedus likewise is from the Greek for "cat-singer" or "cat-voiced".^[1]

Australasian catbirds are the genera Ailuroedus and the monotypic Scenopooetes. They belong to the bowerbird family (Ptilonorhynchidae) of the basal songbirds:

• White-eared Catbird, Ailuroedus buccoides
• Spotted Catbird, Ailuroedus melanotis
• Green Catbird, Ailuroedus crassirostris
• Tooth-billed Catbird, Scenopooetes dentirostris

New World catbirds are two monotypic genera from the mimid family (Mimidae) of the passeridan superfamily Muscicapoidea. Among the Mimidae, they represent independent basal lineages probably closer to the Caribbean thrasher and trembler assemblage than to the mockingbirds and Toxostoma thrashers:^[2]

• Gray Catbird, Dumetella carolinensis
• Black Catbird, Melanoptila glabrirostris

The Abyssinian Catbird (Parophasma galinieri) represents a monotypic genus from Africa. It is tentatively placed in the Old World babbler family (Timaliidae) of the passeridan superfamily Sylvioidea, but possibly closer to the typical warblers of the Sylviidae.

Footnotes

1. ^ Rowland (2008): pp.7,31
2. ^ Hunt et al. (2001), Barber et al. (2004)

References

• Barber, Brian R.; Martínez-Gómez, Juan E. & Peterson, A. Townsend (2004): Systematic position of the Socorro mockingbird Mimodes graysoni. J. Avian Biol. 35: 195-198. doi:10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03233.x PDF fulltext
• Hunt, Jeffrey S.; Bermingham, Eldredge; & Ricklefs, Robert E. (2001): Molecular systematics and biogeography of Antillean thrashers, tremblers, and mockingbirds (Aves: Mimidae). Auk 118(1): 35–55. DOI:10.1642/0004-8038(2001)118[0035:MSABOA]2.0.CO;2 PDF fulltext
• Rowland, Peter (2008): Bowerbirds. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 0643094202 Excerpt at Google Books

This songbird-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Songbirds Passeri stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую Tripeptide Linares Look at other dictionaries: catbird — (n.) 1731, common name for the North American thrush (Dumetella Carolinensis), so called from its warning cry, which resembles that of a cat. Catbird seat is a 19c. Dixieism, popularized by Brooklyn Dodgers baseball announcer Red Barber and by… …   Etymology dictionary Catbird — Cat bird, n. (Zo[ o]l.) An American bird ({Galeoscoptes Carolinensis}), allied to the mocking bird, and like it capable of imitating the notes of other birds, but less perfectly. Its note resembles at times the mewing of a cat. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English catbird — ☆ catbird [kat′bʉrd΄ ] n. a slate gray North American passerine bird (Dumetella carolinensis) with a black crown and tail: it makes a mewing sound like that of a cat and is in the same family (Mimidae) as the mockingbirds and thrashers …   English World dictionary catbird — /kat berrd /, n. any of several American or Australian birds having catlike cries, esp. Dumetella carolinensis (gray catbird), of North America. [1700 10, Amer.; CAT1 + BIRD] * * * Any of several passerine species (family Mimidae) named for their …   Universalium catbird — noun /ˈkatbəːd/ a) Either of two species of American mockingbird relatives, the grey catbird and the black catbird. The catbird’s note exactly resembles the voice of a kitten, that a stranger to it would instantly conclude that such an animal had …   Wiktionary catbird — noun 1. any of various birds of the Australian region whose males build ornamented structures resembling bowers in order to attract females • Syn: ↑bowerbird • Hypernyms: ↑oscine, ↑oscine bird • Hyponyms: ↑satin bowerbird, ↑satin bird, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary catbird — /ˈkætbɜd / (say katberd) noun 1. any of various birds of the family Ptilonorhynchidae, having a call which resembles the mewing of a cat, as the green catbird, Ailuroedus crassirostris, of eastern Australia. 2. → white browed babbler. 3. any of… …   catbird — katpaukščiai statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Ailuroedus angl. catbird vok. Katzenvogel, m rus. птица кошка, f pranc. jardinier, m ryšiai: platesnis terminas – palapinukiniai siauresnis terminas – baltagurklis katpaukštis… …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas catbird seat — ☆ catbird seat n. an enviable position, as of power …   English World dictionary Catbird Records — Infobox record label name = Catbird Records image bg = parent = founded = 2005 founder = Ryan Catbird defunct = distributor = genre = Indie rock country = United States location = New York City, NY url = http://www.catbirdrecords.com/Catbird… …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”