{"id":694,"date":"2014-11-23T18:41:29","date_gmt":"2014-11-24T02:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/?p=694"},"modified":"2025-02-24T09:01:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T17:01:08","slug":"a-date-with-a-varied-thrush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/?p=694","title":{"rendered":"A Date with a Varied Thrush"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Varied

Male Varied thrush perched in red-twig dogwood <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n


\nIt\u2019s unmistakably autumn<\/strong> when the strikingly beautiful Varied thrush begins appearing in Pacific Northwest yards, parks, and natural areas. That\u2019s varied, <\/em>as in Ixoreus naevius, <\/em>though I\u2019ve also seen various other thrushes\u2014Swainson\u2019s and Hermit\u2014feeding in residential areas from time to time. <\/em>The scientific name given to this robin-sized bird comes from the Greek ixos,<\/em> which means \u201cmistletoe,\u201d and oros<\/em> for \u201cmountain\u201d and the Latin naevius<\/em>, which translates to \u201cspotted or varied.\u201d If my math is correct, that adds up to \u201cvaried berry-loving mountain bird,” or some such.<\/p>\n

Since reading the State of the Birds<\/a> report I\u2019ve felt a twinge of anxiety about whether or not I\u2019d see them this year, as I have each fall and winter since I began creating our \u201creal\u201d garden. Sadly, the Varied thrush is one of dozens of species included on the list of \u201cCommon Birds in Steep Decline\u201d that have lost more than half of their global populations within the past 40 years. But just a few days ago I spotted a female rummaging on the ground through the fallen leaves<\/a> that blanket our yard’s soil, as if she had forgotten where she put her keys: She\u2019d grab a dry leaf in her bill, toss it aside as she hopped backwards, and then search the ground. She was looking for dinner, of course, and apparently found some tasty morsels in the form of insects, slugs, or other arthropods who were hoping to get through the winter under protective leaf “litter.” Varied thrushes also eat fruit and nuts (primarily acorns) during winter and I wondered when she\u2019d return to find the rose hips, patiently dangling off my clustered wild rose (Rosa pisocarpa)<\/em>, as she (or her cousin) had done last year. Apples are also reportedly a favorite food in fall.<\/p>\n

\"Male

A male Varied thrush rummages through fallen leaves to find food.<\/p><\/div>\n

Most thrushes wear earthy colors on purpose\u2014so they can be difficult to spot\u2014but this species can be especially tough to see since their gorgeous plumage is reminiscent of dappled sunlight or pumpkin-colored leaves on a forest floor. And they\u2019re timid and wary of people, so you may be more likely to hear one than to see one. But hearing their call in the woods rarely helps locate one, since their ethereal, somewhat mournful voice<\/a> seems to pervade a peaceful forest. Let\u2019s honor their need to be left alone\u2014sometimes it\u2019s enough just to hear them to be struck by their beauty.<\/p>\n

Birds of a feather
\n<\/strong>Fall through winter, Varied thrushes gather together in flocks, collectively known as a hermitage\u2014a fitting description considering their obligation to be concealed. In the city they act slightly bolder than in quiet forests, coming to within about 15 feet of the house to feed, as well as perch and survey in leafless trees. Their range encompasses the boreal forests of Alaska and the Yukon, southward along the west coast to California, as well as east to Alberta, Idaho, and western Montana. National Geographic records their winter range as \u201ccoastal Alaska to southern<\/em> California and parts of northern Rockies,\u201d but judging by this<\/a> enthusiastic news account, sightings in southern California may be somewhat rare.<\/p>\n

\"Varied

Female and immature Varied thrushes look similar.<\/p><\/div>\n

During the remainder of the year these birds retreat to mature, misty, hushed forests that are dominated by tall conifers and lush ferns, and dine on mostly insects and other arthropods. Many migrate north as the days lengthen. In spring, the female creates her nest in streamside shrubs or conifers, typically 5 to 15 feet above ground. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the nest resembles a robin’s nest<\/a>: \u201cThe female gathers nest material and weaves an outer layer of fir, hemlock, spruce, or alder twigs. She adds a middle layer with rotten wood, moss, mud, or decomposing grass, which hardens into a dense cup about 4 inches across and 2 inches deep. Finally, she lines the cup with fine grasses, soft dead leaves, and fine moss, and drapes pieces of green moss over the rim and outside of the nest.\u201d Two to six eggs, blue with speckles, are laid and incubated by Mom but the hatchlings are tended by both (monogamous) parents; they fledge in about two weeks. They are fed arthropods, as are the majority of land birds. Two broods are produced when possible.<\/p>\n

Since these birds thrive in old growth forests, logging is having a profoundly negative impact on their numbers, as will climate change<\/a>. Window strikes<\/a> are also responsible for many deaths. Want to help them and see them in your yard?<\/p>\n

\u2666 During fall, winter, and early spring, don’t remove<\/a> the leaves, twigs, bark, and other dead wood<\/a> that have fallen from trees onto the soil.<\/p>\n

\u2666 If your yard was historically forest, grow the trees that likely once grew there to provide food and roosting or nesting sites. In coastal B.C., Washington and Oregon, choose Sitka spruce (near the coast), Douglas-fir, western hemlock or western redcedar; in northwestern California choose coastal redwood, Sitka spruce, and red alder.<\/p>\n

\u2666 Thrushes are mainly insectivorous, so add additional “associate” native plants that would naturally grow with the trees to supply extra helpings of native insects and other arthropods.<\/p>\n

\u2666 Include native plants that produce fruits, nuts, or seeds to provide additional forage. Depending on your location, madrone<\/a>, cascara<\/a>, garry oak<\/a>, wild rose, huckleberry, elderberry<\/a>, honeysuckle, salal, thimbleberry, and dogwood<\/a> might be good choices.<\/p>\n

\u2666 Be sure birds can see your window glass, not a reflection of the sky! Check out these tips to help birds avoid reflective glass<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n\u00a9 2014 Eileen M. Stark<\/a><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s unmistakably autumn when the strikingly beautiful Varied thrush begins appearing in Pacific Northwest yards, parks, and natural areas. That\u2019s varied, as in Ixoreus naevius, though I\u2019ve also seen various other thrushes\u2014Swainson\u2019s and Hermit\u2014feeding in residential areas from time to time. The scientific name given to this robin-sized bird comes from the Greek ixos, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[93,94],"tags":[379,260,128,103,249,126,125,250],"class_list":["post-694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-functional-gardening","category-wildlife","tag-dead-wood","tag-functional-gardening","tag-insectivorous-bird","tag-leaf-litter","tag-native-plants","tag-northwest-birds","tag-northwest-natives","tag-wildlife-garden"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p69uLV-bc","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=694"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6588,"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694\/revisions\/6588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}