Catbirds do not use birdhouses. They build their nests concealed in bushes, vines, small trees and thickets at the edge of a wooded park or in a hedgerow. The nest is large and coarse-looking on the outside but neatly lined with various soft materials. If you save the lint from your dryer and put it outside in clumps in the spring, catbirds will often use it to line their nests.
Catbird couples have one or two broods per year with three to five blue-green eggs per brood. In the northern and middle parts of their range they lay their eggs from May to August, and in the southern areas from May to July. Female catbirds build the nest with some help from the males and incubate eggs for 12 days. Males help raise the young, but females may take a different mate for a second breeding later in the season. Catbirds live from 4 to 10 years.
Catbirds do not use birdhouses. They build their nests concealed in bushes, vines, small trees and thickets at the edge of a wooded park or in a hedgerow. The nest is large and coarse-looking on the outside but neatly lined with various soft materials. If you save the lint from your dryer and put it outside in clumps in the spring, catbirds will often use it to line their nests.
Catbird couples have one or two broods per year with three to five blue-green eggs per brood. In the northern and middle parts of their range they lay their eggs from May to August, and in the southern areas from May to July. Female catbirds build the nest with some help from the males and incubate eggs for 12 days. Males help raise the young, but females may take a different mate for a second breeding later in the season. Catbirds live from 4 to 10 years.
