catbird

plural catbirds · alternative cat bird

1. An American passerine bird of the genera Dumetella and Melanoptila.

   I recall a catbird high in the water oak above, swinging like a rag amid the branches, jabbering and screeching [...].

   1967, William Styron, The Confessions of Nat Turner, Vintage, published 2004, page 200

   1 more example

   The catbird’s note exactly resembles the voice of a kitten, that a stranger to it would instantly conclude that such an animal "had got bewildered in the branches".

   1832, Sharon Turner, The Sacred History of the World

2. Any of four species of Australasian bowerbirds of the genera Ailuroedus and Scenopoeetes.

   The cat bird had a forlorn cry, like a whimpering child or the animal it is named for.

   1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 185

3. A babbler-like bird from eastern Africa, Parophasma galinieri.