The discovery of a dead Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis in the port of Genoa, a first record for Italy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30456/avo.30142Keywords:
Gray Catbird, Italy, Genoa, port terminal, first record, autumn, migration, weatherAbstract
On November 23rd, 2023, a Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis was found dead inside the Genoa Pra’ port terminal. This is the first record for Italy. The bird's condition suggests that death occurred approximately 20 days before it was found. On October 26th, another Gray Catbird was observed on Corvo Island (Azores) along with several other Nearctic species. The meteorological dynamics that affected this last arrival, which occurred on the back of a continuous conveyor belt of westerly winds on October 24th across the Atlantic and an inten-sifying low pressure by 25th, could be at the origin of this exceptional find. The possibilities that the bird may have reached Genoa on its own wings or by ship-assistance are discussed.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Alessandro Ghiggi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Accepted 2026-01-26
Published 2026-02-24
