Veery (Catharus fuscescens)

Night Voices of Summer

July 16, 2022 At the close of a summer day, the songbirds go silent. As if on cue, the birds of the night make their voices known. In an Eastern woodland, the eerie trills and whinnies of an Eastern Screech-Owl are among the first sounds of the night. Meanwhile, as night falls west of the Rockies, a

Rachel Carson and the Veery

January 4, 2022 Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, and her beloved friend Dorothy Freeman shared a love of nature… and especially of one particular bird: the Veery, a type of thrush. Plain looking as it is, the Veery has a particularly beautiful song. Hear the extended podcast from BirdNote Presents

Migrations: Veeries Predict Hurricanes

September 27, 2021 In some years, tawny-colored thrushes called Veeries cut their breeding season short. Researchers discovered that Veeries tend to stop breeding early in the same years that the Atlantic hurricane season is particularly severe. Surprisingly, Veeries are sometimes better at predicting

Three Brown Thrushes

May 14, 2021 The Swainson's Thrush, the Hermit Thrush, and this Veery are small, brown birds, but their songs clearly distinguish them. The Swainson's Thrush announces its presence in early spring with subtle, limpid "whit" or "wink" sounds. Many rate it among the finest singers. A Veery's phrases tend

Voices and Vocabularies - Exquisite Thrush Songs

June 1, 2018 Some believe the song of the Wood Thrush to be the most beautiful bird song in North America. Others select the song of the Hermit Thrush. Still others name the singing of the Swainson’s Thrush. How do thrushes like this Veery create such fine music? The answer is that the birds have a