To the Sioux, Sica Hollow is a place of legends. The Sioux reported streams that sometimes ran red, unexplained lights at night and other strange happenings that they had no explanations for. Possibly the song of the Veery contributed to these legends, for there is certainly an ethereal quality to this bird’s vocalizations. The Sioux would not have heard this bird on the prairie, but upon entering places like Sica Hollow and other heavily forested coulees in what is now northeast South Dakota, the Veery would have been encountered. The Veery sings most frequently at dusk, adding more mystique to the event. Despite the ease of listening to a Veery, finding the bird that creates this unworldly song can be a challenge to even an experienced naturalist.

The Veery is one of the five North American species of spot-breasted thrushes that occur in South Dakota. Two are migrants through our state, the Gray-cheeked Thrush and Hermit Thrush. One nesting record of the Hermit Thrush is known from the Black Hills. Three of the spot-breasted thrushes are regular breeding birds in our state, but all are limited in range by availability of habitat. Swainson’s Thrush nests in spruce and mixed forests of the Black Hills. Wood Thrush are breeding birds of the remaining Missouri River forest and the lower Big Sioux River, with a few nesting records in northeast South Dakota. The Veery is known to nest only in the wooded coulees of the northeast and in Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills.

The habitat of the Veery is thickets and dense shrubby vegetation bordering streams and wetlands within large areas of forests. It can be very frustrating to catch a glimpse of the songster in this type of habitat. Add to this difficulty the bird’s ventriloquial talents and shy nature, a Veery can be a veery difficult bird to see!

Veery nest across southern Canada and the northern United States. The breeding distribution extends down the Rockies and the Appalachians. The Black Hills breeding population is isolated from other nesting populations while the Veery nesting in Sica Hollow are on the very southern fringe of the range. A neotropical migrant, banding recoveries and radiotelemetry research indicate that nearly the entire population of this species migrates to and from the wintering habitat in South America by crossing the Gulf of Mexico. The average one-way migration distance of a Veery is over 3200 miles. Some populations migrate up to 4600 miles. Additionally, research shows that Veery flap their wings almost continuously while migrating, unlike most neotropical migrants. Other species generally flap and coast. Such a migration would make for a veery weary Veery. Ornithologists still don’t know where most of the Veery population actually winters. It is thought that tropical forests in Brazil and Bolivia are the primary wintering habitats.

Although Veery nest in moist forests of Arizona and the central and northern Rocky Mountains, they are almost absent during spring migration in Mexico and the southwest United States. The pattern of migration sightings suggests that the migratory route is to the east. It is likely that Veery nesting in South Dakota and in the Rocky Mountain states follow that eastern route and then circle around to the west and south. Even in migration, Veery are not commonly seen in South Dakota. At our banding station on Farm Island near Pierre, we have banded only 3 Veery out of the 3401 birds banded during spring and fall migration periods since 1993, further reinforcing the hypothesis of an eastern migration route.

Males are the first to arrive in the spring and begin defending a territory. Females arrive later. After mating, the female veery builds a nest. Veery usually nest on the ground, but sometimes low in a bush or small tree. The nest is constructed on a platform of dead leaves. The actual nest is constructed of fine bark, weed stems, and leaf mold, lined with fine roots and plants. The usual clutch size is four or maybe five blue to blue-green eggs. Only the female incubates but after the young hatch both parents provide food for their young. The male vigorously defends the territory, protecting the pair’s food resources from other thrushes.

Veery feed primarily on insects and fruits. About 60% of the diet consists of insects. Occasionally snails and other invertebrates are taken. Snails are a minor part of the diet but may be an important source of calcium for females with developing eggs. During the nesting season, the diet is nearly 100% insects. In late summer and fall fruit becomes more important. Most foraging occurs on the ground, but when seeking fruit Veery may be seen in fruit trees.

The Veery is another of the neotropical migrant species that are slowly declining in abundance. The threats to this species and other neotropical migrants are almost too many too list. I hope that the Veery remains on our South Dakota list of nesting birds for a long time to come, but the future is not very bright. We can preserve and manage nesting habitat of the Veery in South Dakota. The problems transcend that effort, however. The lack of knowledge of specific wintering habitats and locations makes conservation of winter habitat uncertain. Meanwhile, the migration route becomes increasingly hazardous. Unless people and governments begin to take a serious conservation approach on a larger scale, migratory species such as the Veery will continue to decline in the face of habitat loss on a hemispheric scale. The Veery of Sica Hollow could become more ghostly than we ever imagined.

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