Family:
The veery is a medium-sized member of the thrush family with a plump body, long wings and legs, a small head, and a straight, narrow bill. It has cinnamon brown upperparts and pale underparts, grey flanks, and indistinct spots on the cream-coloured breast. The spots are often more obvious on more northern breeders.
On the head, there is a brown moustachial stripe, and a poorly defined eye-ring. The eyes are dark, and the legs and feet are pink. Males and females are similar.
They have a distinctive, scolding call and a beautiful song that descends in pitch and which gave rise to its name.
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Veeries spend their time foraging on the forest floor, turning over leaves to find insects. They may also catch insects in flight, and in the winter will supplement their diet with fruit and berries.
Veeries breed in humid, deciduous forests in southern Canada and the north of the United States, often near water. They migrate south to their wintering grounds in South America, stopping off on the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, and the West Indies.
The migrate long distances at night, often flapping their wings continuously throughout the flight. Their wing efficiency means they can fly much longer distances than other thrushes on smaller stores of energy.
