Gray Catbird incubation lasts about 12 days. During that time, this mom was brave and vigilant. As this was right outside our front door (and we don’t have the luxury of alternative exits) I knew she’d be dealing with our comings and goings throughout this whole breeding ordeal. Since the shrub had been recently trimmed, I was lucky that at one point while walking past you could see straight through a gap to see her quietly watching you.

Embryos require a fairly stable and narrow temperature range, so her vigilance is important. Carryover effects of suboptimal temperatures during incubation range from slower nestling growth (Ospina et al. 2018, Ecol Evol) to more fearful behaviors in the offspring (Bertin et al. 2018, Scientific Reports). In catbirds, the female does all the incubating and will typically sneak off to eat around sunrise. I never directly saw the male coming to feed the female on the nest during the day, but that behavior is also typical for these songbirds.

On July 20, we had our first nestling! (It was only 8 days after I first noticed the eggs, so the first must have been laid a few days earlier as it usually takes about 12 days to hatch.) It doesn’t immediately start begging for food, so if you listen in the video you can hear the adult give several “quirt” calls that eventually trigger the open-mouthed begging response.