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Nature's Solace
Celebrating Nature in the Pacific Northwest
Celebrating Nature in the Pacific Northwest
Varied Thrush - Ixoreus naevius
Varied thrushes are among my favorite of songbirds. They are a handsome bird and when our big snow came in 2022, it brought with it 24 varied thrushes to our backyard! They are normally solitary birds, known to be shy and it's always a treat to catch a glimpse of them. But in the winter they may flock together and we were blessed for them to choose our yard. We got to enjoy them dawn to dusk for three days straight. Once the snow melted, only a couple graced us with their continued presence.
The varied thrush is a bird of the forests in the Pacific Coast, Cascades and Northern Rockies. They seem to prefer the dark wet and mature forests. In our area they are resident birds with breeders staying in one area year round. See Distribution Map
Varied thrushes are ground feeders. In the spring to early fall, they can be seen busily pecking away at the leaves and forest debris in search of insects and arthropods living underneath. In the winter, they switch to berries and seeds and can more commonly be seen in open areas and backyards.
A bird of the forest - this one is in the Olympic National Park
The haunting song of the varied thrush - haunting is the key description, especially when heard within the deep forest. .Not a bird to sing melodies, the varied thrush sings out a single tone that sounds more like a dissonant blend of tones that lasts about 2 seconds. Successive notes spaced 3 -20 seconds may be sung on different pitches. I have a friend who perfected an imitation of their song by humming and whistling at the same time!
Singing by the males is one way to establish their territory in addition to chasing off rival males.
Click here to listen to All About Birds' recording of their song.
Varied thrushes in the winter, all puffed up. The temperature was in the 20s. Birds
will fluff up in the cold to trap as much air in their feathers as possible. Once the temperature returned to the 40s, they returned to their more slender selves.
Three of the twenty four varied thrush visitors in our cherry tree.
This thrush was a bit more slender and wore a unique
punkish do. He/she was one of a kind.
Varied thrushes are thought to be monogamous. The males are the first to arrive at the breeding ground where they will sing
to establish a territory, which they aggressively defend. Nests are built by the female around 10' above ground close to the trunk of a small conifer commonly in the understory of mature forests. There will be one to two broods with one to six eggs each.
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