72 Microseasons of the Pacific Northwest

The Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius) is one of the most iconic and atmospheric birds of the Pacific Northwest winter. A robin-sized thrush with a stunning pattern — deep blue-grey upperparts, rich burnt-orange breast separated by a dark pectoral band, and orange eyebrow stripe — the male is arguably the most beautiful bird regularly seen in PNW lowland forests. Despite their striking appearance, Varied Thrushes are secretive and easily missed; they are most often detected by their haunting, single-note song: a sustained, quavering whistle that seems to come from deep within the rainforest and echoes off moss-covered firs. In February the birds are most visible when they move into residential neighborhoods and urban parks during cold snaps that deplete food in dense forest. Look for them foraging on the ground under fruiting hawthorns, hollies, and cotoneasters, or scratching through leaf litter in shaded corners of parks. Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, Seward Park in Seattle, any of the Bellevue ravine parks, and the Hoh Rainforest trails in Olympic National Park are reliable locations. In the BC coastal rainforest, they breed at low elevations in old-growth Douglas-fir and western hemlock stands. The song of the Varied Thrush is one of the great sounds of the Pacific Northwest winter forest. It is a single, sustained tone — sometimes pure, sometimes with a slight buzz — held for two to four seconds, then followed by silence, then a note at a different pitch. The effect in a foggy, mossy rainforest is profoundly atmospheric. Serious birders schedule winter walks specifically to experience this sound on rain-muted February mornings in old-growth stands.