23

Green Catbird (Ailuroedus crassirostris) Aboriginal name(s): "jigay"/"jihgay"/"jigaybil" [bundjalung] Size: 24-33 cm; wing span: ca. 48 cm Body mass: 165-290 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: ca. 0.38-0.48

Australia: Family Group 23 Family Group 23 Table Paradise Riflebird Victoria's Riflebird Magnificent Riflebird Trumpet Manucode Australian Raven Forest Raven Little Raven Little Crow Torresian Crow White-winged Chough Apostlebird Green Catbird Spotted Catbird Golden Bowerbird Regent Bowerbird Satin Bowerbird Tooth-billed Bowerbird Spotted Bowerbird Western Bowerbird Fawn-breasted Bowerbird Great Bowerbird Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Green Catbirds are medium-sized bowerbirds. Their head is greyish-brown, mottled with green. The front, from the chest to the undertail coverts, is grey-green mixed with brown, with whitish-grey streaking. The nape of the neck is green with light whitish-grey streaking. The rest of the back is bottle-green. The wings have white bars and white-tipped feathers; the tips of the primaries are dark-grey. The uppertail is green with white tips. The eyes have red-brown irises. The stout bill is greyish to horn-coloured; the legs and feet are grey. Juveniles have duller colours. Twitcher's tip Compared with Spotted Catbirds, they have less conspicuous facial markings and a less heavily streaked front.

Taxonomy, classification See Green Catbird at Wikipedia . Click here for classification information Spotted Catbirds have now been given species status and are no longer considered to be two races of the Green Catbird.

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Green Catbird is available HERE . Since the separation from the Spotted Catbird, there is only one race of Green Catbirds left, "crassirostris",which is endemic to Australia. Green Catbirds are found on a narrow fringe along the East coast of Australia and parts of the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, from about Woollongong, NSW, in the South, to just South of the tropic of Capricorn in QLD. Green Catbirds are at home in highland and temperate rainforest, often high up in the canopy. Where to look? How to find this species? An observer's chances of finding a Green Catbird visually first are slim at best. Usually, the way one will find a Green Catbird is to listen for their distinctive, loud calls and to follow those to spot the bird (usually well above eye level, often in dark, obscured areas).

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "crassirostris" Green Catbirds, race "crassirostris", were first spotted by us in Dorrigo NP, northern NSW, in 2005. They are heard and seen by us regularly in the same location since then. Green Catbirds, race "crassirostris", are reported to us regularly from various locations in south-eastern QLD and north-eastern NSW. Green Catbirds, race "crassirostris", were also found by us at Wingham Brush NR, Wingham, NSW, in September 2011. M. Windeyer reports spotting Green Catbirds, race "crassirostris", in Glenning Valley, NSW Central Coast, in October 2011.

Photos

Race "crassirostris"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Near-frontal view of an adult Green Catbird (photo courtesy of M. Windeyer)
[Glenning Valley, NSW, October 2011]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a Green Catbird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cooroy, QLD, December 2017]

Near-lateral view of a Green Catbird (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Mt. Tamborine, QLD, August 2013]

Near-lateral view of a Green Catbird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, November 2024]

Near-lateral view of a Green Catbird
[Dorrigo NP, NSW, July 2009]

Lateral view of a Green Catbird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cooroy, QLD, December 2017]

Lateral view of a Green Catbird (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2013]

Lateral view of a Green Catbird (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, June 2016]

Different lateral view of a Green Catbird (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Mt. Tamborine, QLD, August 2013]

Lateral/ventral view of a Green Catbird; this bird may have a tick attached to the orbital skin behind its eye
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, November 2024]

Dorsal view of a Green Catbird looking sideways (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Mt. Tamborine, QLD, August 2013]

Dorsal view of a Green Catbird looking sideways (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Mt. Tamborine, QLD, August 2013]

Dorsal/ventral view of a Green Catbird looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cooroy, QLD, December 2017]

Ventral view of a Green Catbird looking sideways (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2013]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary/roaming

Elementary unit: Solitary

As opposed to other species of bowerbirds, male Green Catbirds do NOT build bowers (i.e. courting alleys to attract females).

Male birds are sedentary, females are roaming.

Near-dorsal view of a Green Catbird on the ground basking in the sun (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Royal NP, NSW, January 2017]

Food, Diet

Green Catbird with its bill stuffed with fruit (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cooroy, QLD, December 2017]

Green Catbird foraging on the ground (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Royal NP, NSW, October 2016]

Green Catbird feeding on the core of an apple (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Royal NP, NSW, October 2016]

Green Catbird taking fruit from a bird feeder; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 6 October 2020
(photo courtesy of T. Froia Drummond)
[Pomona, Sunshine Coast, QLD, October 2020]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

Twitcher's tip

Apart from the characteristic cat-like call giving them their name, Green Catbirds also use a very high-pitched short chirping call unusual for a bird this tall (about the same size as a Satin Bowerbird).

grncatb_20170608.m4a	crassirostris (SE QLD)	Contact calls	© MD
grncatb_20140522.mp3	crassirostris (NE NSW)	Contact calls	© MD
grncatb_tfd_20201006.m4a	crassirostris (SE QLD)	Contact calls	© TFD
grncatb_me_20241008.m4a	crassirostris (SE QLD)	Territorial call(?)	© ME
grncatb_art_20131125.m4a	crassirostris (SE QLD)	Territorial calls(?)	© ART
grncatb_tfd_20220831.mp3	crassirostris (SE QLD)	Territorial calls(?)	© TFD
grncatb_art_20131125_2.m4a	crassirostris (SE QLD)	Territorial calls(?)	© ART
grncatb_20160314_3.m4a	crassirostris (SE QLD)	Territorial call(?)	© MD
grncatb_20160314_2.m4a	crassirostris (SE QLD)	Territorial call(?) Q&A	© MD

More Green Catbird sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.