Veery

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Veery

The Veery, Catharus fuscescens, is a small thrush

Thrush (bird)

The Thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World....
species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
. 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

Bird migration

Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather....
species which also includes the cryptotaxa Gray-cheeked Thrush

Gray-cheeked Thrush

The Grey-cheeked Thrush, Catharus minimus, is a medium-sized Thrush . This species is 15-17 cm in length, and has the white-dark-white underwing pattern characteristic of Catharus thrushes....
and Bicknell's Thrush

Bicknell's Thrush

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Encyclopedia

The Veery, Catharus fuscescens, is a small thrush

Thrush (bird)

The Thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World....
species

Species

Bird migration

Gray-cheeked Thrush

Bicknell's Thrush

The Bicknell's Thrush, Catharus bicknelli, is a medium-sized Thrush .Adults are olive-brown on the upperparts, slightly redder on the tail....
(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

Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
across southern Canada

Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
and the northern United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. They make a cup nest on the ground or near the base of a shrub.

These birds migrate

Bird migration

South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
. They are very rare vagrants to western Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
.

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

Wood Thrush

The Wood Thrush, Hylocichla mustelina, is a North American passerine bird. It is closely related to other thrushes such as the American Robin and is widely distributed across North America, wintering in Central America and southern Mexico....
. They also suffered occasionally from brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

The Brown-headed Cowbird is a small brood parasite icterid of temperate to subtropical North America. They are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range; northern birds bird migration to the southern United States and Mexico in winter, returning to their summer habitat about March/April....
s.

Photo gallery

External links

- USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- South Dakota Birds and Birding