Recently I learned about the Veery or Catharus Fuscescens. I'd known the name but never really paid attention. Even in their breeding range they barely bump into my usual listening haunts.
Every so often while recording a popular and common Pacific Northwest Voice, the Swainson's Thrush, I'd hear a particularly sad sounding song. Swainson's have a beautiful uplifting, spiraling away flute-like sound. It's joyful, happy, almost glorifying in its beauty, so hearing a sad song is out of place. I'd always thought that sad song was just a dialect, perhaps a Swainson's that was experimenting, learning.
Nope. It turns out it's a Veery, a close relative of the Swainson's Thrush and Hermit Thrush.
This recording starts with a Swainson’s Thrush in the distance, but quickly a nearby Veery jumps in with its strong pre-song call and moments layers shows off it’s own stylings.
image credit: "Very unhappy veery" by Andrew Weitzel is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
