Female Veery incubating eggs
After getting a few measurements, additional observations, and related anecdotal information, I concluded that the bird that made the nest is probably a Veery. This was further confirmed by the photograph above. Thanks again to the Kelly Family of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine for sharing.
The Veery (Catharus fuscescens) is smaller than a robin, with a cinnamon-brown color above, and faint spotting on a whitish breast. The song of the Veery is a rich downward spiral often heard at dusk in moist woodlands and thickets. The bird itself is seldom seen, although frequently – and umistakenly – heard. Its diet consists of insects and fruit.
The nest of the Veery is a bulky cup of moss, plant fibers, twigs, bark strips, rootlets, weed stalks and leaves usually placed on the ground in a clump of grass and ferns. Occasionally, the Veery will build a nest a few feet above the ground in a shrub. The pale blue-green eggs are oval shaped, smooth, with a slight gloss. The eggs are incubated by the female alone, 11-12 days.
On the East coast, the Veery breeds from Newfoundland southward to New Jersey, and in mountains to Georgia. It spends the winter months in South America.
Some Veery interesting facts:
* The Veery winters in Central and Southern Brazil
* The Veery is the only spotted thrush with uniformly cinnamon-colored upper parts, back of head to tip of tail.
* Occasionally, the Veery will build a nest a few feet off the ground in a shrub.
* A migrating Veery flies up to 160 miles in one night, at an altitude of 1.2 miles
* The eye ring of the Veery is not always easy to spot and is less distinct than that of the Hermit Thrush.
* The Veery is a frequent victim of the Brown-Headed Cowbird, which lays its eggs in the nest of a “host” bird. The Veery makes no attemp to remove the Cowbird egg, and raises the “parasite” bird.
* Some sources say the bird can be lured into view by imitating the squeaking of a bird in distress.
