Gray Catbird in April

April is when spring migration hits its stride. Waves of migrants move north on warm southerly winds, wintering birds leave for good, and early nesters are already on eggs in the South. Every week brings species that weren't there the week before.

For the Gray Catbird specifically, April is a spring month of relative routine, with the species settled into its seasonal pattern across its range. Across the 55 states and provinces where catbirds occur, what the bird is doing this month depends heavily on latitude — the details below break it down by band.

Southern states

absent

Mid-latitudes

year-round resident

Northern states & Canada

absent

In April, catbirds are absent in the South, year-round resident across the mid-latitudes, and absent in the northern states and Canada. That north–south split is the defining feature of this month: where you live changes which version of this bird you're looking at.

Catbirds are not nesting in April. The season runs May–July at mid-latitudes, starting roughly a month earlier in the South.

Outside the nesting season, catbirds put their energy into feeding and flocking rather than territory and young — which is exactly what makes them easier to watch and attract this month.

• Ants, beetles and caterpillars

Catbirds rarely eat seed but visit oriole jelly feeders and fruiting shrubs; dense thickets bring them in.

Migrants arriving after long flights are hungry — feeders can be genuine lifelines during cold, wet spells that suppress insects.

Full Gray Catbird diet guide → · Best feeder for catbirds →

Catbirds are settled and predictable in April, which makes this a good month to learn the bird's routine — same feeders, same perches, same times of day.

The state guides below show exactly where in your region catbirds are expected this month and which native plants hold them in a yard.

AlabamaAlbertaArizonaArkansasBritish ColumbiaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineManitobaMaryland