Veery

Veery, adult

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A tawny thrush of damp deciduous forests, the Veery is the least spotted of all the American spotted thrushes and one of the easiest to identify.

Description

• Medium-sized thrush.
• Upperparts tawny brown.
• Throat and chest buffy, with indistinct reddish brown spots.

• Size: 17-18 cm (7-7 in)
• Wingspan: 28-29 cm (11-11 in)
• Weight: 28-54 g (0.99-1.91 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes alike.

Sound

Song a resonating, ethereal "da-vee-ur, vee-ur, veer, veer," descending slightly in pitch. Call note is a nasal "phew" or "veer."

Conservation Status

Slow decline throughout range.

Other Names

Grive fauve (French)
Tordo rojizo (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• Long thought to winter across the northern third of South America, but a recent study indicated that, in fact, the wintering grounds of the Veery are restricted to central and southern Brazil.

• A study of migration using radio telemetry showed that the Veery can fly up to 285 km (160 mi) in one night, and that it can fly at altitudes above 2,000 m (1.2 mi).

Sources used to construct this page:

1. Moskoff, W. 1995. Veery (Catharus fuscescens). In The Birds of North America, No. 142 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
2. Remsen, J. V., Jr. 2001. True winter range of the Veery (Catharus fuscescens): lessons for determining winter ranges of species that winter in the tropics. Auk 118: 838-848.