Here’s a bird which I was delighted to see while birding in the mountains of western NC, the Veery. These attractive Thrushes seemed to be everywhere up there as nearly every time I hit the trail I could hear one or more singing in the woods. They’ve got a hauntingly beautiful melodic song, reminiscent of that of a Hermit Thrush, delivered at a slightly faster pace and lower tone. This makes them relatively easy to find if you’re able to hone in on their location by using their calls.
Though their range extends across the entire state during migration, Veerys are best found in elevations above 3000 feet in the Appalachian mountains during the spring and summer months. Their breeding range overlaps that of the Hermit Thrush so at times it might be difficult to tell the birds apart. The easiest way to parse the species is to note that Veerys are uniformly, a warm, reddish tone of cinnamon brown all over on their backs from the top of their head to the tip of their tail. Herman Thrushes have cinnamon color tails, however, their back,necks and heads are more of a dull brown. Another helpful identifier is that Veerys have a scattering of orange-ish brown specks on their chest versus the Hermit Thrush, which has distinct round shaped black spots below its neck. Both are gorgeous birds and it’s always a treat to see one!
Veeries are secretive birds that are often heard but sometimes difficult to see while birding in areas of dense foliage. Favoring habitats of cool forests containing spruce-fir stands, mixed spruce and hardwoods, they forage during the day on the forest floor, flipping leaves to uncover insects. Occasionally they can be spotted flying up from the ground to catch insects in flight. Look for them from now through mid September in western NC and from late August -October throughout the rest of the state. Aren’t they lovely?
