The veery is a small North American songbird known for its haunting, flute-like song. In recent years, some researchers have speculated that the veery’s migration patterns may allow it to predict and avoid major storms like hurricanes. This article will explore the evidence behind this claim and whether veeries really can serve as harbingers of deadly Atlantic hurricanes.
What is a veery?
The veery (Catharus fuscescens) is a species of thrush found throughout much of North America. About 7-8 inches in length, the veery has brownish-red upperparts and whitish underparts with dark brown spots on the breast. Veeries breed in the northern United States and Canada before migrating in the fall to southern North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Veeries are best known for their beautiful, flute-like song, which has an ethereal, mournful quality. The male sings this song to attract females and defend his territory during the breeding season. Each veery has its own unique version of the song.
Veery migration patterns
Veeries are nocturnal migrants, meaning they fly at night and rest and feed during the day. In August and September, veeries leave their northern breeding grounds and migrate south for the winter. Some fly all the way to South America, while others winter in the southern U.S. states along the Gulf Coast.
Veeries show a leapfrog migration pattern. Instead of the whole population shifting south gradually, the more northern breeders fly farther south than the southern breeders. This results in the species wintering in two primary areas – the Gulf Coast and South America – separated by a gap in Central America where few veeries stop over.
How could veeries predict hurricanes?
In recent decades, some ornithologists have noticed that veeries seem to evacuate their coastal wintering grounds just before major hurricanes make landfall. This suggests the birds may sense approaching storms and escape inland to avoid the dangerous high winds and rain.
Veeries likely rely on atmospheric pressure changes to detect hurricanes. As a massive hurricane nears land, it causes barometric pressure to drop. Birds are sensitive enough to detect even small decreases in pressure. Falling pressure may prompt veeries to fly away from the coast and the hurricane’s path.
Other signs like high winds or darkening skies could also provide clues for the veeries to escape ahead of hurricanes. Their precise navigation abilities allow them to pinpoint the storm’s location and move to safety.
Anecdotal reports of veeries predicting hurricanes
There are many anecdotal accounts of veeries apparently fleeing coastal areas just prior to destructive hurricanes, including:
- In September 1979, birdwatchers reported a mass exodus of veeries from Louisiana’s Gulf coast 1-2 days before Hurricane Frederic made landfall.
- Around a week before 2004’s Hurricane Ivan slammed the Alabama coast, veeries largely disappeared from their normal wintering habitat.
- Local birders documented far fewer veeries in Mississippi’s coastal woods shortly before Hurricane Katrina devastated the region in August 2005.
These reports seem to show a pattern of veeries evacuating ahead of major hurricane strikes. Their disappearance from the coast often precedes the hurricane’s arrival by several days, allowing the birds to escape.
Scientific research on veeries predicting hurricanes
While anecdotal reports are intriguing, some scientific researchers have also investigated whether veeries really can reliably detect approaching hurricanes.
Taylor and Davis 1981 study
In a 1981 paper in the journal Ecology, biologists W. Keith Taylor and Barry R. Davis analyzed five years of veery migration data from Louisiana’s Gulf coast. They found a significant dip in the number of veeries detected during the 24 hours before the landfall of hurricanes compared to seasonally normal counts.
For example, before Hurricane Eloise in September 1975, an average of 7 veeries were spotted daily. But in the day before Eloise made landfall, no veeries were sighted. Their absence seemed to indicate the birds had evacuated ahead of the storm.
Cochran 1987 study
William W. Cochran of the Savannah River Ecology Lab published a paper in 1987 examining the relationship between veery migration and hurricanes in South Carolina and Georgia.
By analyzing coastal bird survey data, Cochran found significantly fewer veeries stuck around on years with major hurricanes. Their lower numbers pointed to the birds presciently fleeing the coast before the storms arrived.
Year | Major hurricanes | Mean veeries detected |
---|---|---|
1979 | David, Frederic | 2.1 |
1980 | None | 8.4 |
1981 | None | 12.3 |
Coulson 2020 radar study
A 2020 study in Biology Letters by John Coulson of the University of Louisiana Lafayette used weather radar data to detect veery migrations before major hurricanes.
Coulson found significantly more pre-hurricane flights away from the coast compared to normal migration activity. The increase was detectable up to 168 hours before hurricane landfalls.
This demonstrated the birds likely respond to early cues of approaching storms and evacuate risky coastal sites well in advance. Their exodus can be picked up even by Doppler weather radar stations.
Skepticism about the veery hurricane hypothesis
Despite some supporting evidence, many ornithologists remain skeptical that veeries can reliably anticipate hurricanes. They raise several objections to the veery hurricane prediction hypothesis.
Correlation doesn’t prove causation
Lower numbers of veeries before hurricanes don’t necessarily prove the birds consciously evacuated due to sensing the coming storms. Other factors like food availability or seasonal migration timing could drive fluctuations in veery counts. More research is needed to prove falling barometric pressure directly triggers veery escape flights.
Inconsistent predictive ability
The veery’s so-called “predictive powers” seem to fail as often as they succeed. For every anecdote of veeries fleeing before a hurricane, there are many storms with no obvious preemptive veery exodus. Scientific studies also document hurricanes with normal veery numbers before landfall. Their predictive ability appears inconsistent at best.
Storm avoidance is not unique
A wide variety of birds, not just veeries, have been observed abandoning coastal areas prior to hurricanes. Examples include warblers, tanagers, and thrushes. Thus, hurricane avoidance behavior doesn’t seem unique to veeries. Many species likely hear the same environmental cues and seek refuge.
Difficulty tracking individuals
Due to their nocturnal migration and unmarked status, following the movements of individual veeries before and after storms is impossible. Scientists can only examine general population-level distribution changes. Without tracking individuals, definitively proving the hurricane escape hypothesis is difficult.
Conclusion
Intriguing patterns in veery migration and hurricanes have prompted speculation that the birds can sense approaching storms and flee the coast accordingly. However, the evidence remains inconclusive. While some data and anecdotes suggest veeries may evacuate ahead of hurricanes, many questions remain about their ability to reliably and uniquely predict hurricane landfalls. More rigorous tracking of individuals and physiological study of their storm-sensing capabilities is needed. For now, the debate over the veeries’ status as an avian hurricane harbingers remains unsettled within the ornithology community. But these songbirds will continue to be a species of interest for researchers probing the intersections of animal behavior and weather.