THE VEERY 



By T. GILBERT PEARSON 



EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 87 



The Thrushes are rated very high as song-birds, and each has a song so 

 distinct in itself that, once perfectly heard, it need never be forgotten nor 

 confused with the song of any other. One of America's most popular members 

 of this family is the Tawny or Wilson's Thrush, usually known as the Veery. 

 It was called Wilson's Thrush by Prince Lucien Bonaparte, who was a great 

 admirer of Alexander Wilson, and the editor of his 'Ornithology.' The name 

 'Veery' is an imitation of its ringing call. To the novice in bird-study the various 

 small Thrushes are somewhat confusing. The Veery has often been mistaken 

 for the Wood Thrush, despite the difference that the latter has distinct rounded 

 black spots on its breast, and the Veery has small and somewhat indistinct 

 arrow-shaped spots on its breast and sides. 



There is no mistaking the Veery's song, however. It is one of the most 

 melodious notes of the northern woodlands, and during the spring migration is 

 frequently heard on still days in the forests and groves of the South. It begins 

 singing shortly after its arrival in May and usually stops early in July. There 

 have been many attempts to describe the Veery's song, and numerous writers have 

 tried to spell it out in words. To my mind aU such attempts are woefully 

 inadequate. Perhaps the best description of its song is that given by Ridgway, 

 who refers to it as "an inexpressible, delicate, metallic utterance of the 

 syllables ta-weel-ah, iwil-ah, twil-ah, accompanied by a fine trill." The first part 

 of the song is louder than the ending — in fact the song seems to start off 

 with a burst of energy which diminishes before the end of the performance. 

 To me the song has always suggested a sort of etherial trill, as if the notes came 

 through a spiral, silvery pipe, and there is something suggesting infinite space 

 and vast distance in their exquisite quahty. Although the song carries well, it 

 frequently happens that when one is near the performer, but does not see it, 

 one may think the bird a considerable distance away. 



The Olive-backed Thrush has a song which may be described as a poor 

 imitation of that of the Veery, but once hsten to a Veery on a long summer 

 evening and you will never afterward mistake the Olive-backed Thrush for the 

 Veery. 



This bird knows well how to hide her nest and unless, perchance, you 

 should see her carrying building-materials, or should discover one of the 

 parents taking food to the young, you are not hkely to learn her secret. 

 Probably the majority of nests that are seen are found by flushing the bird 

 from her eggs as the observer makes his way through the woodland. 



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