Day 134: Although Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius) is said to be a year-'round resident here, they generally appear here in April or May. Consequently, I was surprised to see this guy at the feeder, munching down seeds instead of the usual diet of insects and fruit. Like the Black-Capped Chickadee, he seems to be a solo, as was the single American Robin who cropped up a few days ago. This tells me I'd better keep my eyes open for other isolated occurrences as the seasons progress. I may have a "big year" in my own back yard!
The call of the Varied Thrush is a long whistle, followed a few seconds later by another whistle on a different pitch, and accounts for one of the questions I'm most frequently asked by visitors to the Park: "Do you know what bird makes this sound?" Some of the human imitations are quite good, but even a poor rendition is easily identifiable as Varied Thrush. Once you have heard it and have had the bird identified, you'll never forget those haunting, paired notes. These birds prefer cool, moist evergreen forests such as those found in Mount Rainier National Park, and although the species is still listed as "common" in the Pacific Northwest, its habitat is shrinking due to logging outside of protected areas.
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