By Catherine Warwick.
This summer keep your ears open for a very unique bird song. It is sung by the Veery, which is a small brown bird from the Thrush family. This family is full of great singers, the American Robin, the Townsend’s Solitaire, and the Hermit Thrush to name a few. To me the headlining act would be the Veery, with its ethereal spiraling song. It has a haunting, otherworldly quality that stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it in the Weaslehead area.
The Veery has a different vocal system then you or I. It can produce two notes simultaneously from its syrinx, which is what it has instead of a larynx. The sound sounds like “veer”, which is where its name comes from. Perhaps it seems to spiral due to the fact that its volume lowers and rises, it sounds close and then far, close and far. It seems to echo through the forest. Somehow it sounds better in the wild than the song recorded on the Merlin App. That bird was probably nervous when it got into the recording studio, concerts are always better live after all.
The bird itself is always hard to see and usually hidden in the brush. The one I heard was very elusive and I never actually got to see it. If I had, I would have seen a bird that was brown on top and white on bottom with speckles on its throat. It’s basically an unassuming little brown bird until it opens its beak and then it is an angel.
Veery – June 11, 2021, photo: Pam Hardy
The Veery’s song is a downward spiraling melody. But wait! There is another bird that also has a song that spirals, but upward. This would be the Swainson’s Thrush. So if you hear a spiralling song you need to think – is this going up or down? And if you ever find yourself in a forest trying to figure that out, you know you have advanced to “Bird Nerd” status.
Swainson’s Thrush – May 3rd, 2024 at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. Photo: Pam Hardy
As you can see from the photos the Swainson’s Thrush is very similar to the Veery. It too is brown on top, white on bottom and with speckles on its throat. In fact there are many thrushes that look very similar. You better hope that little brown bird starts singing if you want to identify it! If you are in Calgary it’s good to know that the Swainson’s Thrush is more common, according to eBird, compared to the Veery. I’ve certainly noticed more of these around than the Veery.
eBird frequency chart, downloaded as of 2026:
Both of these birds are insect eaters during the breeding season and then they switch to fruit. The Swainson’s also enjoys ants, which is rare among temperate songbirds according to All About Birds. I think it’s smart to go for ants, they are plentiful and easy to find. I’ve got thousands in my garden that it is welcome to feast on.
Next month I’ll write about the octagon singers. Just kidding, as far as I know the spiral is the most complicated shape of a bird song. Or I should say, the most complicated shape that humans have extrapolated onto a bird song. If you were looking forward to an article on these so-called ‘octagon’ singers, then I’m afraid it’s too late for you, you are a Bird Nerd.
