veery

veery (Catharus fuscescen)
Photo © Alan Murphy Photography

FEATURES
The veery is about seven inches long (tail tip to bill tip in preserved specimen). It has rust-red feathers on the head, back and wings. Gray feathers are present along the sides of the belly near the wings. There are some brown marks on the light-brown breast feathers, but the marks do not appear as definite spots.

BEHAVIORS
The veery sings mainly in the morning and at dusk. Spring migrants begin arriving in Illinois in late April. Fall migrants begin returning to Illinois in August. This species overwinters in South America. It eats insects, worms and fruits.

​Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae