The Veery is the plainest-looking of Michigan's woodland thrushes — a warm, even cinnamon-brown above with only faint, blurry spots smudged across a whitish breast, far less marked than the Wood Thrush or Hermit Thrush. What it lacks in bold plumage it more than makes up for in voice. Its song is one of the most magical sounds of the northern summer forest: a downward-spiraling, breezy, flute-like "veer-veer-veer-veer" with an ethereal, echoing, almost ventriloquial quality, as if the bird were singing inside a metal pipe.
This otherworldly effect comes from the thrush's two-sided voice box, which lets it harmonize with itself. Veeries breed in moist deciduous and mixed forests with dense shrubby understory, often near water, across much of Michigan, and they forage quietly on and near the ground for insects and, later in the season, berries. Long-distance migrants, they winter in central South America. Learning the Veery's cascading song is one of the pleasures of a June evening in the state's richer woodlands.
Forages on and near the forest floor for insects and other invertebrates, flipping leaf litter and gleaning from low vegetation, and shifts increasingly to berries and wild fruit in late summer and fall. Fruit helps fuel its long migration to wintering grounds in South America.
That breezy, downward-spiraling "veer-veer-veer" with a haunting, echoing quality is the Veery. Its two-sided voice box lets it sing two notes at once, producing the ethereal, almost ventriloquial effect.
The Veery is the warmest and plainest of the brown thrushes — uniform cinnamon-brown above with only faint, blurry breast spots. The Wood Thrush is boldly spotted and rustier-headed; the Hermit and Swainson's Thrushes are more distinctly marked.
In moist deciduous and mixed forests with a dense shrub understory, often near streams or wet ground. It breeds across much of Michigan and forages quietly on and near the forest floor.
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