veery

Veery
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Turdidae
Genus:	Catharus
Species:	C. fuscescens
Binomial name
Catharus fuscescens (Stephens, 1817)
Synonyms
Hylocichla fuscescens

The Veery, Catharus fuscescens, is a small thrush species. It is occasionally called Willow Thrush or Wilson's Thrush. This species is 16-18 cm in length, and has the white-dark-white underwing pattern characteristic of Catharus thrushes. It is a member of a close-knit group of migrant species which also includes the cryptotaxa Gray-cheeked Thrush and Bicknell's Thrush (Winker & Pruett, 2006).

Adults are mainly light brown on the upperparts. The underparts are white; the breast is lighter brown with dark spots. They have pink legs; their eye ring is indistinct. Birds in the east are more cinnamon on the upperparts; western birds are more olive-brown.

Their breeding habitat is humid deciduous across southern Canada and the northern United States. They make a cup nest on the ground or near the base of a shrub.

These birds migrate to eastern South America. They are very rare vagrants to western Europe.

They forage on the forest floor, flipping leaves to uncover insects; they may fly up to catch insects in flight. They mainly eat insects and berries.

This bird has a breezy downward-spiralling flute-like song, often heard from a low but concealed location. The most common call is a "vee-er", which gave this bird its name.

This bird has been displaced in some parts of its range by the Wood Thrush. They also suffered occasionally from brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds.

Photo gallery

A juvenile, banded near Montreal, Canada

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Catharus fuscescens. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

• Winker, Kevin & Pruett, Christin L. (2006): Seasonal migration, speciation, and morphological convergence in the avian genus Catharus (Turdidae). Auk 123(4): 1052-1068. [Article in English with Spanish abstract] DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2006)123[1052:SMSAMC]2.0.CO;2 PDF fulltext

External links

• Veery - Catharus fuscescens - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
• Veery Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Veery Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
• Veery Catharus fuscescens photo with audio clip