May 2009
The Varied Thrush is distributed in Alaska, north-west Canada, British Columbia and the west of the USA. Some birds are resident but the far northern breeders migrate southwards in winter.
The male is greyish above with a complex wing pattern and orange below with a black breast band. It has an orange supercilium running behind the eye. The bill is blackish and the legs are yellow to flesh coloured. The female is browner above and has a fainter breast band.
The song is a long series of rather eerie, evenly pitched and, at times quavering whistles lasting about 2 seconds each with an interval of between 3 to 20 seconds between them. It can last over 10 minutes and is typically sung from the top of a conifer.
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