Varied Thrush
Newest addition to the Cold Creek Bird Species List
Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius)
The latest addition to the Cold Creek Bird Species List is the Varied Thrush. This rare visitor to Ontario was spotted at Cold Creek in early January, 2010, by Geoff Simpson, a Cold Creek Stewardship member. Normally a resident of north-western North America, from Alaska down to northern California, several spill over the Rockies into Alberta in the summer and a few even make their way to Ontario each winter.
The male, in winter, with its blue-black and orange colouring, is extremely attractive when contrasted against a snowy backdrop. Winter food includes berries and seeds, plus fruit, nuts and suet at feeders. The Varied Thrush is shaped like a Robin, but is slightly smaller, and its flight is robin-like.
— Barry Wallace (Barry the Birder)