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British Birds Volume 65 Number 2 February 1972 British Birds Veery in Cornwall: a species new to Britain and Ireland E. M. P. Allsopp Plate 9 The village of Porthgwarra lies in a small secluded valley at the south­ westerly tip of Cornwall. At 09.30 hours on 6th October 1970 G. E. Dunmore was watching a Yellow-browed Warbler Phyllscopus inor- natus in the sallows in the lower part of the valley when a bird flew across his field of view and landed low down in the bushes about six metres away. Seen from the side, it gave him the impression of a plump thrush about the size of a Robin Erithacus rubecula, but when it turned to face him he saw streaking on the upper breast sharply demarcated from uniform whitish below. It was obviously something unusual and he drew it to the attention of H. P. Medhurst who, from a side view of the upperparts, gained the immediate impression of a large Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia. Both observers then had reasonable views for two minutes while it was low in shadow under the bushes. It was a dumpy bird noticeably smaller than a Song Thrush Tardus philomelos, but larger than a Robin, with rich warm brown upperparts and rather long, thin legs for its size, but with no super- cilium or distinct orbital ring. G.E.D. thought it might possibly be an Olive-backed Thrush Catharus ustulatus or a Grey-cheeked Thrush C. minimus, as these were the only small American thrushes previously recorded in Britain and Ireland, though neither name-character was evident. The bird was left to settle for 15 minutes while D. Barker, P. Pearce, K. Pellow and L. P. Williams were informed of its presence. It was rediscovered on the edge of a large elderberry bush, where it was watched for a further 15 minutes in good light at ranges down to ten 45 46 Veery in Cornwall metres. At this point K. Allsopp and I arrived, but the bird promptly- disappeared from view. G.E.D. and H.P.M. then consulted Peterson (1947, 1961) and Robbins et al. (1966): from the very warm brown coloration of the back, sparseness of spots on the breast and lack of eyestripe or orbital ring, they concluded that it was a Veery C. fuscescens. H.P.M. held up a copy of Robbins et al. open at page 233 (the Catharus thrushes) with the names covered up; looking at it through binoculars from about five metres, D.B., K.P., P.P. and L.P.W. all independently selected the Veery. About two hours later K.A. found the bird again among the bushes and all eight of us watched it for half an hour. During that period it moved slowly about the vegetation with long pauses between each move, occasionally feeding on elderberries, but at other times enter­ ing tamarisks and dead bushes. Although skulking and generally inactive, apart from a characteristic lowering of its head into its collar, the bird sometimes flicked its wings and tail. It allowed fairly close approach, once down to two metres. When it was felt that no more details could be obtained in the field, it was trapped and photo­ graphed by K.A. in colour Plates 9b-c are monochrome reproductions of two of the transparencies. It was in very good condition, with no detectable weakness and with none of the plumage spoiled. In the hand it was strong and aggressive, its excreta indicating a diet of elderberries, and it flew off strongly into the large elderberry bush when released. The bushes were then left undisturbed so that it could feed, and it was not seen subsequently. Descriptions were taken both in the field and in the hand, and these are summarised below. Together they clearly establish the identification as a Veery, the first to be recorded in Europe. DESCRIPTION IN THE FIELD Plumage: Crown and nape rich warm brown; mantle, scapulars, rump and uppertail- coverts also warm brown but less rich. Loral region grey-brown, with indistinct orbital ring; ear-coverts warm brown, paler than upperparts, shading into brown sides of neck. Chin and upper throat noticeably white, clearly bordered on each side by a thick brown moustachial streak and merging with colour of lower throat, this and upper breast being rich buff-brown (tinged golden in sunlight), paler in centre, with darker blotches forming ill-defined spots; sharp contrast with lower breast, belly, vent and undertail-coverts which were off-white with faint grey wash in subdued light and faint buffish wash in sunlight; centres of tips of lower breast feathers faint grey. Sides of breast and flanks uniformly white washed grey, with slight buffish tinge in good light. Uppertail brown, a shade darker than mantle, slightly warm brown in good sunlight; undertail darker. Primaries and secondaries brown; on closed wing inner primaries appeared slightly paler, tips darker; outer primaries darker. Bastard wing long, brown, paler in bright sunlight. Upperwing- coverts as mantle, with buff tips to central greater coverts giving impression of slight wing-bar. Underwing grey-white. Soft parts: Bill thrush-like but relatively fine; upper mandible grey-brown, lower pale except for terminal quarter. Legs pale brown, tinged pinkish or purplish. Iris black-brown. Veery in Cornwall 47 DESCRIPTION IN THE HAND Plumage; Crown, nape, mantle and scapulars warm brown (very warm brown in sunlight); rump and uppertail-coverts also warm brown. Lores grey, some rictal bristles; ear-coverts brown edged buff, with whitish centres. Sides of neck brown. Chin and upper throat white washed buff, with dark moustachial stripes; lower throat and upper breast white, each feather tipped centrally with broad grey wedge bordered orange-buff; feathers of middle breast white edged brown-grey; lower breast, belly and vent white; undertail-coverts white, outer ones with faint grey- buff tinge. Sides of breast and flanks white suffused brown, terminal halves of feathers washed grey. Tail colder brown than rest of upperparts, but outer webs edged warm brown except on outermost feather. Outer web of second primary pale buff, of others warm brown; inner webs grey-brown; secondaries dull brown. Bastard wing pale brown-buff on outer web, dark brown on inner. Primary and greater coverts warm brown on outer webs, dark brown on inner, 5th-7th greater coverts each with buff wedge at tip; median and lesser coverts warm brown. Underwing-coverts white, terminal halves washed grey-buff; basal centimetre of undersides of remiges whitish (forming bar across underwing), rest grey-buff. Soft parts: Upper mandible very dark brown-black; lower mandible with flange edged yellow, basal half pale horn with violet tinge, tip plain horn; gape bright yellow. Legs horn-white at back, tinged purplish at front. Iris black-brown. Wing- formula: 3rd primary longest, 2nd —3.0 mm, 4th —1.5 mm, 5th —9.0 mm; 3rd and 4th clearly emarginated on outer webs, 5th slightly. Measurements: Wing 106 mm; bill (from feathers) 13 mm; tarsus 33 mm, COMPARISON WITH SKINS On a visit to the Bird Room at the British Museum (Natural History) on 24th November, I consulted two trays of the nominate subspecies of the Veery and one of the western form C. f. salicicola, and trays of other American wood thrushes. These clearly confirmed that the bird at Porthgwarra had been a Veery, but I found that the rather broad grey wedges, bordered orange-buff, at the tips of the breast feathers occurred in only a few skins of salkkola. Those of nominate fuscescens, as a rule, had narrow red-brown arrow-shaped markings at the tips, and no general colour suffusion. Unfortunately all the skins of this species in the British Museum were of adults collected during May. Assuming that the pale tips to some of the greater coverts indicated a first-year bird, as in Turdus, I consulted Bent (1949) only to find the statement that the tips of the greater coverts in juveniles, which are not moulted in their first winter, are dark. According to Ridgway (1907), however, the markings were quite correct for a first-year bird. The wing and tarsus measurements were both 1 mm over the maxima given by Ridgway, but Ms were all taken from skins. Neither book was very helpful on racial differences, Bent giving a Newfoundland race (Juliginosus) as well. While salkkola is generally darker above than nominate fuscescens, and the Porthgwarra individual tended towards the former, I found the skins too variable for this to be a positive indication. 48 Veery in Cornwall NOTES ON THE GENUS (I am grateful to P. F. Bonham for providing this section and the following one.) The eleven small American thrushes of the genus Catharus have no real counterpart in Europe. Four of these, the Hermit Thrush C. guttatus, Olive-backed (or Swainson's) Thrush, Grey-cheeked Thrush and Veery, are all common summer visitors to large areas of North America. The Grey-cheeked breeds farthest north in subarctic coniferous forests and dwarf willow and alder clumps, and some even cross the Bering Sea to nest in extreme north-east Siberia west to the Kolyma, The Olive-backed also prefers evergreen forests, but has a wider range south to the Appalachians, the Great Lakes and the western United States. The Hermit Thrush breeds in dry coniferous and mixed woods largely in the southern parts of the range of the Olive-backed, and the Veery is found in mixed or deciduous forests and wooded swamps in the west-central and north-eastern United States and southern Canada, The name 'Veery' comes from the downward-slurred fluty notes of the bird's song, all these thrushes being very fine singers more often heard than seen.
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