Gray Catbird Expedition Blog

These updates were written by Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center scientists Pete Marra and Brandt Ryder
A small gray bird, called a gray catbird, standing on a rock

Gray Catbirds in Colorado

When people think of Colorado lots of images come to mind…Rocky Mountains, John Denver…maybe a bucking bronco. When I think of Colorado the thing that comes to mind are catbirds.

Gray catbird habitat in Colorado.

Back east catbirds are in our yards and gardens. Here in Colorado they are a species of the wild lands…occupying the riparian ravines and thick shrubs.

Gray catbird with transmitter attached to its back. Photo by Anne Perrault

What will be interesting is whether these wild land birds are in wild lands on the wintering grounds.

Stay tuned for the recovery of these birds next year and the download of the tracking data.

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center director Pete Marra with a gray catbird. Photo by Anne Perrault

Gray Catbird Study Begins

This summer the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center is starting a new tracking project looking at the migratory connectivity of gray catbirds.

This exciting project takes a range-wide approach by tagging nearly 100 gray catbirds across their breeding range in Washington D.C., Atlanta GA, Springfield MA and Fort Collins CO.

Specifically, we will be tagging catbirds with 1 gram archival GPS tags that can take 80 points at 10 meter resolution.

Gray catbird banding site

By tracking birds across their breeding range, we can look at how breeding populations are connected with non-breeding locations that span from Florida to the Caribbean and Central America.

A catbird wintering in Florida is likely to experience vastly different environmental conditions than one that winters in Guatemala.

The GPS tracking device

Attaching the tracking device to a gray catbird

By tracking birds across their range and throughout the annual cycle, we can begin to understand how conditions during the non-breeding season impact departure timing, the speed of migration, and arrival for the next breeding season.

Documenting how environmental variation across the non-breeding range "carrys-over" to influence breeding success has never been done before.

We look forward to updating everyone as the data begin to roll in next summer!

Continue Exploring

April 19, 2019

The Social Networks of Manakins

Humans have Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. Wire-tailed manakins have social networks, too. For more than 17 years, Smithsonian ornithologist Brandt Ryder has studied this bird's unique social systems. Learn more in this Q&A.

September 06, 2017

Gray Catbird Vocalization Study

What happens when a migratory bird’s path lands it right in an urban area like Washington, D.C.? The city is known for its extensive park system, but can these urban parks support wild birds through the breeding season? Moreover, how do birds’ natural behaviors change when they’re living the city...

June 30, 2017

Tracking Catbirds with Technology

Fitted with a GPS device the weight of a paperclip, a gray catbird in the Washington, D.C., area flies south, unaware that the device records its every move. That data is key for conservation biologists, like Brandt Ryder of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, who aim to understand the threats...