🐦 A songbird 🌏 An Australasian bird

catbird

9.9

A bird from Australia and New Guinea whose male builds a decorated structure to attract females

noun
/ˈkætˌbɜrd/

Australian

: pájaro bower

The male catbird built a beautiful bower decorated with colorful flowers to attract a mate.
Green Catbird

Examples

Mitochondrial DNA testing has revealed that the Green Catbirds belong to the bowerbird family, although, as their current behavior suggests, they diverged from the main grouping quite early in evolution.

Academic text (2004)
There are conflicting opinions as to whether the Green Catbird is one or, in fact, three species.

Academic text (2004)
So marvelous catbirds wanted to mimic them.
During the mating season, the catbird sings loudly to showcase its impressive courtship display.
In the lush forest, we spotted a catbird carefully arranging twigs and leaves in its bower.

Synonyms

bowerbird

vscatbird

Australian

1 9.4

A bird from Australia whose male builds and decorates a structure to attract a mate

is the broader common name for several species in that family

Idioms

in the catbird seat

Archaic

3 9.1

A strong position with power or advantage

Compounds

gray catbird

6.6

A small gray songbird in North America with a call like a cat

Surface Forms

catbird singular

catbirds plural

Morphology

catbird = cat + bird (semi-transparent) = cat + bird

Components 'cat' + 'bird' are clear, but the specific zoological referent (bowerbird species) and naming rationale are less predictable for learners.

Etymology

Catbird for some Australasian species is also cat + bird, because their calls can sound like a cat's 'mew', and these birds are famous for males building decorated bowers to attract females.