Plate 164 – Tawny Thrush

While exploring Labrador’s Little Mecattina Cove on July 20, 1833, John James Audubon noted seeing the Tawny Thrush. The bird has since been re-named the Veery. It is there “as common as any other birds.” By August 12, “none were seen.” When Audubon says that the Veery was seen, this requires no small doing. The Veery migrates mostly at night and carries out almost all of its activity “in the concealment of dark shady woods, near brooks or moist grounds.” When courting, the birds even prefer to stay near the ground in places where the female can challenge the male to hop after her and catch her if he can. When singing, the Veery is much less secretive. Even though “less powerful” than the Wood thrush (Plate 73), the song of the Veery is “enunciated with great delicacy and mellowness, so as to be extremely pleasing to one listening to them in the dark solitudes where the sylvan songster resides.”