Tail chestnut underneath. Catbirds flip their tails jauntily as they navigate on the ground or in shrubs. Nests built in dense, thorny thickets, 1-3 meters above ground. Winters in the southern United States, Panama, and the West Indies. Catbirds mimic other birds' songs, but unlike the repeated notes of the mockingbird, their imitations come in disjointed bits.
Eggs are greenish-blue and glossy.
Catbirds are abundant on the Wellesley College campus. Look and listen for them wherever there are dense shrubs.