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Veery - Catharus fuscescens

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Genus: Catharus

ICUN Redlist - World Status:

Least Concern

Description

The veery is a light brown thrush with its brown head, back and wings and a speckled white and brown throat and a white belly.

It has a clear and recognizable song that is particularly easy to hear cascading through the woods during breeding season.

Range

The veery is migratory and has a very large range. During breeding season, it lives along the border between Canada and the United States from British Columbia to Maine and Nova Scotia. From southern Canada, the veery's range dips south into the Rocky Mountains, along the Great Lakes, along the Appalacian Mountains and throughout New England. In the fall, the veery migrates to central and southern Brazil.

Habitat

The veery spends the summer in spots along rivers in damp, deciduous forests. Distrurbed forests with a dense understory are preferred.

Diet

The veery forages on the ground for food. It eats eats insects during the breeding season and fruit and berries in the late summer and fall.

Life Cycle

The veery forms a cup shaped nest on the ground at the base of a small tree. The nest is made of dead leaves, bark from grapevine, weeds and decomposing leaves. The veery lines the nest with fine roots and fibers. In the nest, the female lays 1-5 pale, greenish blue eggs. Upon hatching, the young chicks are helpless, have few feathers and need to be cared for by the parents.

Behavior

The veery can fly up to 160 miles in one night. It can also fly at altitudes above 2,000 feet. That is1.2 miles above the ground!

Audio Credit: xeno-canto.org Mike Nelson