Varied Thrush

The varied thrush doesn’t get the attention it deserves, probably because it’s too common in some places and too remote in others.

Perch posture is half the ID. A varied thrush hunched, a varied thrush alert, and a varied thrush in the wind look like three different birds.

I avoid published counts of population estimates here. My interest is a sightings journal, not a density map.

I’ve had good looks during fall migration on ridges and less consistent luck at coastal stopovers.

It’s a species I’d happily spend an entire morning watching without ever raising the camera.