 At 19 – 20 @.@ 5 cm ( 7 @.@ 5 – 8 in ) in length and 31 @.@ 6 – 42 g ( 1 @.@ 1 – 1 @.@ 5 oz ) in mass , the black catbird is the smallest of the mimids . It has short , rounded wings and a relatively long tail . The sexes are similar in appearance , though the male tends to be heavier . The plumage is glossy black with a purplish sheen overall , though the rectrices and primary and secondary coverts have a greenish sheen and the remiges are a duller blackish @-@ brown color showing reduced sheen . The female is less glossy than the male , and juveniles are brownish @-@ gray with mottling below . The legs are black . The bill , which is black and shorter than the head , has a generally straight culmen , decurved toward the tip . The iris is a dark reddish color in adults and gray in juveniles . 
