Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis

Took our lunches to John Chestnut Park on Lake Tarpon, east of Tarpon Springs, FL. Great boardwalks and viewing areas there always produce some good birds. We had no sooner sat in the shade of a large gazebo than we were joined by some Boat-tailed Grackles and this curious Gray Catbird, no doubt hoping we'd toss it a treat. The bird was too close for digiscoping and in deep shade. I was able to take a few shots with our new Canon SX50 IS, a "super zoom" which I'm just starting to figure out. The shot shows the black cap well, although other details are a bit muddied. Note the long tail. 

From a 2008 email about this species:

Dumetella means "little thicket", and the Gray Catbird loves to forage low in tangles of brush, so hard to see. Common in the east, especially Florida in April, but we also see them in the summer in Connecticut.

Dumetella is a monotypic genus, so only the one species here. Closest relative is the Black Catbird (Melanoptila glabrirostris) of Mexico and Central America. Both are in the Mimidae family, the Mockingbirds and Thrashers, and like those cousins the catbirds have a varied vocal repertoire. Other non-related passerines have the common name "catbird", including 4 bowerbird species and 1 babbler! I'm guessing that most of them make mewing sounds like the Gray Catbird.

Catbirds are monogamous, at least seasonally, lay about 4 eggs, often have 2 clutches, and are adept at identifying and eliminating Cowbird eggs. They sound like the Brown Thrasher and Northern Mockingbird, eat insects and fruit, spend the winter in southeast U.S. and down to Central America, and are reasonably stable as far as population goes. And they are one cool bird!  (Ref: Birds of North America, online edition)