Grey Catbird

I hung a suet feeder from a tree outside the window, so I can work at the computer and also watch birds. The squirrels (and maybe raccoons) ate the first cake of suet in a few days, but some bits drop on the ground as they pick away. This afternoon, I looked out and a catbird was cleaning up what had fallen. A catbird is completely dark gray but with a small black cap on the top of its head and beady black eyes. They are quite common but not generally a feeder bird, at least not in my experience. They can sound exactly like a cat hidden in the brush, or they can sing beautifully from a tree top, which is where I often saw and heard them this spring just off the Stu Visser trail. One day, there were four of them, feeding on sumac in a tree right at trailside.