Veery - Catharus fuscescens
General Description
An 18-cm-long bird with a reddish brown dorsum, white belly, gray flanks, grayish face, small spots (often indistinct) on the breast, indistinct grayish eyering, and straight slim bill. Western populations have a darker dorsum and more breast spotting than do eastern populations.
Diagnostic Characteristics
Veerys differ from other thrushes by having less breast spotting (less distinct and more restricted). They differ from Pacific coast populations of Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus) in having gray, insteas of buffy brown, flanks.
Distribution
Montana Range
Observations in Montana: 722
Montana CountiesBeaverhead, Big Horn, Blaine, Broadwater, Carbon, Carter, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Dawson, Deer Lodge, Fallon, Fergus, Flathead, Gallatin, Glacier, Golden Valley, Granite, Hill, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Liberty, Lincoln, Madison, Meagher, Mineral, Missoula, Musselshell, Park, Petroleum, Phillips, Pondera, Powder River, Powell, Ravalli, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sanders, Sheridan, Silver Bow, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Teton, Toole, Valley, Wheatland, Yellowstone
Migration
In the Bozeman area, normal migration periods are from May 22 to June 1 and August 25 to September 3.
Habitat
Generally inhabits damp, deciduous forests. Has a strong preference for riparian habitats in several regions, including the Great Plains. Prefers disturbed forest, probably because denser understory is not found in undisturbed forests. (Moskoff, William. The Birds of North America, No. 142, 1995).
Food Habits
Primarily a ground forager, with a diet fairly evenly divided between insects and fruit. Roughly 60% insects, 40% fruit, feeding primarily on insects as breeders and on fruit late summer and fall. (Masco 1995).
Reproductive Characteristics
Breeds in early-successional, damp, deciduous forests, often nesting near streamside thickets or swamps. Nest are typically on or near the ground, most often elevated in or at the base of a bush or small tree. Clutch size is 1 to 5 greenish-blue/bluish-green subelliptical to short subelliptical eggs. Moskof 1995). Nests are observed during June and early July.