The Gray Catbird, known in French as Moqueur chat, is a champion mimicker that can make an ordinary bush sound like it’s hiding 5 or 6 different species simultaneously. As you might think, the Catbird gets its name from the cat-like “mew” call it often makes.

Gray Catbird. Photographed by Peter Massas

Each week we introduce a new bird from the Ottawa-Gatineau area through our segment on CBC Radio’s In Town and Out. Alex MacDonald, Nature Canada’s Manager of Protected Areas, shares interesting facts about the birds that live in our communities. Be sure to tune-in to “Bird Tweet of the Week” on CBC Radio One 91.5 FM on Saturday mornings from 6am to 9am and listen to past episodes on our website

This episode aired on Saturday July 5, 2014.