catbird


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Related to catbird: catbird seat

cat·bird

 (kăt′bûrd′)
n.
1. A songbird (Dumetella carolinensis) of North and Central America having predominantly slate plumage and a cry like the mew of a cat.
2. Any of various other species of birds having a similar cry, especially one of several birds of Australia and New Guinea related to the bowerbirds.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

catbird

(ˈkætˌbɜːd)
n
1. (Animals) any of several North American songbirds of the family Mimidae (mockingbirds), esp Dumetella carolinensis, whose call resembles the mewing of a cat
2. (Animals) any of several Australian bowerbirds of the genera Ailuroedus and Scenopoeetes, having a catlike call
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cat•bird

(ˈkætˌbɜrd)

n.
a songbird with catlike vocalizations, esp. a common slate-colored member of the mockingbird family, Dumetella carolinensis, inhabiting the E and central U.S.
[1700–10]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.catbird - any of various birds of the Australian region whose males build ornamented structures resembling bowers in order to attract femalescatbird - any of various birds of the Australian region whose males build ornamented structures resembling bowers in order to attract females
bowerbird
oscine, oscine bird - passerine bird having specialized vocal apparatus
family Ptilonorhynchidae, Ptilonorhynchidae - bowerbirds
Ptilonorhynchus violaceus, satin bird, satin bowerbird - of southeast Australia; male is glossy violet blue; female is light grey-green
Chlamydera nuchalis, great bowerbird - large bowerbird of northern Australia
2.catbird - North American songbird whose call resembles a cat's mewingcatbird - North American songbird whose call resembles a cat's mewing
Dumetella carolinensis, gray catbird, grey catbird
oscine, oscine bird - passerine bird having specialized vocal apparatus
Dumetella, genus Dumetella - catbirds
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

catbird

[ˈkætbɜːd] N to be (sitting) in the catbird seat (US) → sentirse seguro
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
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A catbird, the Northern mocker, lit in a tree over Tom's head, and trilled out her imitations of her neighbors in a rapture of enjoyment; then a shrill jay swept down, a flash of blue flame, and stopped on a twig almost within the boy's reach, cocked his head to one side and eyed the strangers with a consuming curiosity; a gray squirrel and a big fellow of the "fox" kind came skurrying along, sitting up at intervals to inspect and chatter at the boys, for the wild things had probably never seen a human being before and scarcely knew whether to be afraid or not.
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"'Tis a strange calling!" muttered Hawkeye, with an inward laugh, "to go through life, like a catbird, mocking all the ups and downs that may happen to come out of other men's throats.
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Wild vines entangled the trees and flaunted in their faces; brambles and briers caught their clothes as they passed; the garter snake glided across their path; the spotted toad hopped and waddled before them; and the restless catbird mewed at them from every thicket.
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Percentage of nonvegetated ground had a significant relationship with the occupancy of more of our songbird species than any other variable, including gray catbird, Northern cardinal, and American robin.
Microhabitat Factors Associated with Occupancy of Songbirds in Suburban Forest Fragments in the Eastern United States
The feeding ecology of the Green Catbird has been investigated only in the northern parts of its distribution (Donaghey 1981; Innis and McEvoy 1992; Church 1997).
Feeding ecology of the Green Catbird Ailuroedus crassirostris in the Illawarra region, New South Wales
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Catbird's virtualisation security solutions portfolio includes a complete range of solutions that can protect virtual environments from internal and external threats, replace multiple physical security gateways with virtualised versions, and provide a portable virtualised desktop to endpoint users.
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I recall my father saying, "There's a catbird." I didn't see anything, and he said he didn't either, but he could "tell by the mewing sound it makes." I spent years imagining a flying cat, until I finally saw a picture of a gray catbird.
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