The Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius) is a medium-sized North American thrush known for its beautiful song. The song of the Varied Thrush is often described as one of the most beautiful bird songs in North America. In this article, we will explore exactly what sound the Varied Thrush makes and what its song sounds like.
The Varied Thrush is found along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to California. Its range stretches east to the Rocky Mountains. It prefers coniferous forests as its habitat. The Varied Thrush is the state bird of Washington.
Describing the Varied Thrush Song
The song of the male Varied Thrush is often described as having a “resonant, flutelike tone.” It consists of a single note followed by a short descending scale or trill. The song has an ethereal, reverberating quality.
Here are some key characteristics and descriptions of the Varied Thrush song:
– Flutelike and melodious
– Described as “wildly sweet” and “hauntingly beautiful”
– Single whistled note followed by short trill or descending scale
– Bell-like or gong-like tones
– Reverberating and ethereal
– Repeated phrases spaced several seconds apart
– Often described as sounding similar to the song of the Wood Thrush
– Rich and full tonal quality
The song of the Varied Thrush is often transcribed as “oh holy holy, ah pure being pure”. This helps approximate the sounds that make up their song.
Timing and Context of the Song
Male Varied Thrushes sing their beautiful song to establish breeding territories and attract mates in late winter and early spring. In their breeding grounds along the Pacific Coast, the song season lasts from January to June, with the peak singing activity in March to May.
The song is most frequently heard in early morning and late evening twilight hours. It is often one of the first bird songs heard at dawn in Pacific Northwest forests. The song carries well in the quiet of dawn and dusk and reverberates hauntingly across the landscape.
During the day, Varied Thrushes may break into sudden song from high perches within their forest breeding territories. They often sing from the tops of tall conifers, allowing their flute-like notes to resonate.
Regional Variations
There are some subtle regional dialects in the Varied Thrush’s song across their range:
Pacific Northwest
In the core of their range in the Pacific Northwest, the song is more likely to include a brief trill or range of descending notes at the end. The tone also has a more metallic, ringing quality.
California and Rockies
In California and the Rocky Mountains, the song more commonly ends in a single, pure whistle without the trill. The song also has a warmer, mellower tone.
Alaska
In Alaska, the song tends to be lower-pitched and more drawn out. It has a slower, more mournful quality.
So while the overall pattern and melody of the song remains consistent, there are subtle regional inflections. However, most variations retain the core features of the flute-like timbre and a single introductory note followed by a descending scale or trill.
How to Attract Varied Thrushes
If you’d like to attract Varied Thrushes to your yard so you can hear their magical song, here are some tips:
– Provide coniferous trees and shrubs – these are their preferred habitat.
– Leave leaf litter and shrubby understory intact – they forage on the ground.
– Offer suet feeders with nut and fruit mixes. They are attracted to berries and nuts.
– Use a water feature like a bird bath or fountain. They drink and bathe frequently.
– Reduce pesticide use so insects are available as natural food.
– Install nest boxes to encourage breeding.
– Provide roosting pockets in dense vegetation for wintering birds.
With a natural habitat featuring conifers, berries, and nesting sites, you can stand a good chance of being serenaded by the exquisite song of the Varied Thrush!
Unique Aspects of the Varied Thrush Song
The song of the Varied Thrush stands out for several unique qualities:
Hauntingly beautiful tone
The reverberating, flutelike tone creates an otherworldly, haunting beauty unlike any other common backyard bird.
Carries over long distances
The song projects very well across forests and open spaces because of its piercing tone and repetitions.
Structured song pattern
With distinct introductory note and trill/descending scale pattern, the song has more complexity and structure than many birds.
Distinct regional dialects
The subtleties between songs of Pacific NW, California, Rockies, and Alaska populations are unusual for a common songbird.
Sung in twilight hours
Many birds sing at dawn and dusk, but the Varied Thrush’s ethereal song is particularly well-suited to carrying across the landscape at twilight when forests are quiet.
These unique qualities come together to make the Varied Thrush song one of the most beautiful and easily recognizable bird songs of the forests of western North America.
Comparable Bird Songs
The uniquely resonant song of the Varied Thrush has few comparisons among North American songbirds. However, here are some birds with similar vocalizations:
Wood Thrush
The Wood Thrush of eastern forests has a flute-like, resonant song that carries over distance. Its song consists of phrases beginning with a few clear notes descending into ethereal trills and warbles.
Hermit Thrush
The Hermit Thrush that breeds across northern forests has a hauntingly beautiful song consisting of clear, spiraling notes. Its tones are pure and melodious like a Varied Thrush.
Swainson’s Thrush
Swainson’s Thrush delivers a spiraling song of clear, liquid phrases. Its ascending and descending warbled notes have a similar tonal quality to the Varied Thrush.
Song Sparrow
The common Song Sparrow sings a melodious tune with distinct phrases, often ending notes with a downward trill or turn similar to the Varied Thrush’s song.
So while no other bird matches it exactly, the songs of certain thrushes and the Song Sparrow share qualities of tone, resonance, and phrasing with the Varied Thrush’s unmistakable song.
Significance of the Song
The song of the Varied Thrush serves several important purposes:
Defends Nesting Territory
Singing males establish breeding territories and warn rival males to stay away.
Attracts Mates
Females are drawn to male birds with the most complex and robust songs.
Signal of Fitness
Females may gauge male health and vigor by how early and how persistently he sings.
Guides Migration
The spaced repetitions allow birds to keep contact during migration.
Mark Status
Singing frequency and skill indicates male maturity and social status.
So the Varied Thrush’s song plays a crucial role in breeding, communication, and social structure throughout the year. The beauty of the song is important in attracting mates and defending territories.
Interesting Facts About the Varied Thrush
Beyond its beautiful song, the Varied Thrush exhibits some other fascinating behaviors:
– It uses mud to plaster the outside of its nest, possibly to camouflage it.
– Nests are often built remarkably high in trees, up to 150 feet above ground.
– Both parents feed the nestlings with insects and berries by regurgitating food.
– Males take the night shift protecting and keeping the eggs warm in the nest.
– Their orange feathers create camouflage similar to the color of wet leaves on the forest floor.
– Young birds stay with their parents for up to three months after fledging from the nest.
– They migrate at night and often in loose flocks.
– Their Latin name “naevius” means “spotted” referring to the speckled plumage.
So the Varied Thrush is a well-adapted forest songbird with some intriguing behaviors beyond its beautiful song.
Threats Facing the Varied Thrush
Despite its large range along the Pacific Coast, the Varied Thrush faces a number of concerning threats:
– **Habitat loss:** Logging and land clearing removes essential coniferous forest habitat.
– **Climate change:** Warming temperatures may alter forest composition and insect food sources.
– **Brood parasitism:** Increased Brown-headed Cowbird populations can parasitize thrush nests.
– **Predators:** Natural predators like jays, squirrels, and raptors take eggs and nestlings. Outdoor cats are also a major predator.
– **Collisions:** They are vulnerable to window collisions in urban areas during migration.
More research is needed to fully understand population trends. But protecting large intact forests will be key to preserving the song of the Varied Thrush into the future.
Conclusion
With its hauntingly beautiful, flute-like song that echoes through quiet twilight forests, the Varied Thrush truly provides one of nature’s most magical sounds. This resonant song rings out from high in the coniferous treetops as the males mark their forest breeding territories and attract mates. Subtle regional dialects add further complexity to this unforgettable bird vocalization. From Alaska’s mournful, drawn-out notes to the Northwest’s piercing, metallic trills, the Varied Thrush’s song is an iconic sound of the great forests of western North America. Appreciating and protecting this species allows us to continue enjoying the wonders of nature conveyed by song.
