VEERY (Catharus fuscescens) VEER Sample size: 676 |
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The northern breeding limit for Veery runs from interior British Columbia east to Newfoundland at ca. 50 degrees north. The eastern populations reach their southern limit just south of the Great Lakes, east to Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey, also south in the higher Appalachians to north Georgia [Moskoff 1995 (BNA)]. They inhabit damp deciduous forests and wetlands, single-brooded, with the nest on the ground or in low shrubs. Foraging is in low vegetation, or on the ground for insects and fruit [Moskoff 1995 (BNA)]. Although Moskoff (1995) summarizes the winter range from many authors as "probably throughout much of tropical n. South America", Remsen (2001) suggests that there are only 14 definitive winter records, all from south-central and southeastern Brazil. This dramatically reduces the winter range, and suggests a greatly increased conservation risk from habitat loss in these areas. Winter habitat is described as tropical broadleaf evergreen forest [Rappole et al. 1983].
The Veery is a nocturnal migrant, unless finishing a night flight over the Gulf of Mexico. Most migrants arrive in South America in October and leave in April [Hilty and Brown 1986], reaching New England by mid-May. Fall migrants peak here at the end of August and early September [Veit and Petersen 1993], and fly trans-Gulf to the Yucatan Peninsula, Central America, and thence to South America [Moskoff 1995 (BNA)]. Migration habitat is usually lower growth in forests and second growth; confined to old second-growth forest in Costa Rica [Blake and Loiselle 1992]. Fall migration food preferences included invertebrates and a wide range of fruit [Moskoff 1995 (BNA)].
Brown-headed Cowbirds lay eggs in Veery nests at a significant level, up to 87% of nests in Alberta and Manitoba [Friedmann et al. 1977]. Thus on the breeding grounds, forest fragmentation, leading to cowbird parasitism and increased general predation, is a conservation concern. Veeries prefer to nest in areas cleared at least 40 years previously, and loss of forest habitat is presumed to be an adverse factor in both North and South America [Moskoff 1995 (BNA)]. Breeding Bird Survey data show a significant decreasing trend of 1% per year for North America from 1966-1991.
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Observations
Veery is near the north of its range in the upper Connecticut River valley. Breeding birds are scarce north of the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. During the breeding season, this is a bird of wooded, primarily deciduous wetlands. On migration, however, no difference was detected between A, B or C sites at differing distances from the Connecticut River.
The timing and density did not vary significantly by state. This resulted in a rather uniform migration timing difference by period among all states. A few birds arrived in period 2, with increasing density in all states through periods 3, 4 and 5. |
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VEER Map
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