Gray Catbirds (Dumetella carolinensis) are our area’s cool, common mimics that we found have their own idiom. We found this cool fact from BirdNote, a radio series that consists of short two-minute snippets of interesting bird information.
Sitting in the catbird seat
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!
Ah…so that’s what that phrase is about! Thanks for the info!