Skip to main content Skip to navigation
Home
Today's Show: Spider Silk - Duct Tape for Bird Nests
Hummingbird sitting on its tiny nest built of plant material held together with spider's silk
Listen In
  • Today's Show
  • Listen
    • BirdNote Daily
    • Bring Birds Back
    • Threatened
    • BirdNote Presents
    • Sound Escapes
    • How to Listen
  • Explore
    • Field Notes
    • Sights & Sounds
    • Birdwatching
    • Resources for Educators
  • How to Help Birds
    • At Home
    • In Your Community
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • The Team
    • Board Members
    • DEI/IDEA Commitment
    • Partners
    • For Radio Stations
    • Funding
    • FAQs
    • Support BirdNote
  • Donate

Sitting in the Catbird Seat

July 14, 2013
What the heck does that mean?
Listen Now
Subscribe
  • Share This:
  • Share to Facebook
  • Share to Twitter
  • Share to Email
Gray Catbird Expand Image
© Pat Hemlepp

Longtime baseball announcer Red Barber often described a player in a winning situation as "sitting in the catbird seat." So what is "sitting in the catbird seat"? And what is a catbird? The Gray Catbird is a cousin of the mockingbird, and it does sound a little like a cat. During breeding season, when it's protecting its territory, the catbird competes with others of its species. The two combatants sing their way to higher and higher perches. The one who finally takes the highest perch is ... well ... sitting in the catbird seat!

  • Full Transcript
  • Credits
BirdNote®
Sitting in the Catbird Seat

Written by Ellen Blackstone

This is BirdNote!
[Strains of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”]
Longtime Brooklyn Dodger and later New York Yankee announcer Red Barber often described a player in a winning situation as “sitting in the catbird seat.” [Recording of Red Barber]
So what is “sitting in the catbird seat”? And what, for that matter, is a catbird? The catbird part is easy: it’s a cousin of the mockingbird, in the bird family known as the mimids (pronounced MIMM-idz). And it does sound a little like a cat. [Mewing of Gray Catbird]
But where did that phrase come from? It’s been around since the 19th century, probably originating in the south, where there are lots of catbirds. The Gray Catbird is normally a skulker, foraging near the ground. [Mewing of a Gray Catbird] But during breeding season, when it’s protecting its territory, the catbird is likely to pick fights with others of its species. As part of the competition, the two combatants sing their way to higher and higher perches. The one who finally takes the highest perch is … well … sitting in the catbird seat, with the best view, in control, top bird, so to speak. [Song of Gray Catbird]
So, take it from the old redhead: the catbird seat is the place to be. [Strains of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”]

###
Audio of the Gray Catbird provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.  Call recorded by W.L. Hershberger.  Song recorded by G.F. Budney.
Red Barber audio from Old Gold Cigarette commercials, www.youtube.com.
“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” with Harry Caray, www.youtube.com
Producer:  John Kessler
Executive Producer:  Chris Peterson
© 2013 Tune In to Nature.org   July 2013   Narrator: Frank Corrado

ID#071307catbirdKPLU    catbird-01-FCr  

Ellen Blackstone
Writer
Frank Corrado
Narrator
Pat Hemlepp
Photographer
Tags: humor, language, sports

Related Resources

Gray Catbird - More at All About Birds

More About These Birds

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)

Dumetella carolinensis

Sights & Sounds

Related Field Notes

November 5, 2017

Canada Geese Caption Comments

By BirdNote Gallery
BirdNote Facebook fans are so clever!
October 5, 2015

What Do You Call a Group of BirdNote Listeners?

By BirdNote Gallery
We recently ran a show about collective nouns for groups of birds,

Birds connect us with the joy and wonder of nature. By telling vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face, BirdNote inspires listeners to care about the natural world – and take steps to protect it.

Support BirdNote

  • About
  • Annual Report
  • Contact
  • Science Advisory Council
  • Pitch Page
  • Sights & Sounds
Sign up for our newsletter!
  • BirdNote on Facebook
  • BirdNote on Twitter
  • BirdNote on Instagram

Copyright 2022. All rights reserved.

  • Privacy Policy