catbirds

Noun

catbird (plural catbirds)

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