Veery

I'm going to need to start off this post with an apology: this is really not a very good image, but, when it came to showing the entire bird in a view I could use to identify it, this shot was the best one I had. Indeed, for a full frontal that revealed the all-important breast characteristics, it was the only shot I had. When I spotted the critter skulking along the moss-covered base of a tree that had come down last year, I knew it was one of the thrushes. I suspected it was a Wood Thrush—they've started singing up a storm recently—but it didn't appear to be spotted, so it might have been one of the rarer thrush species. To make certain I could ID it, I took lots of pictures and kept hoping for a better view in the sunshine. It wouldn't cooperate, of course, and, as is typical, I had to deal with imperfection. However, between its warm, cinnamon-red color and the relative lack of spotting, it was pretty quickly clear that I had a Veery in my viewfinder.  A so-far silent Veery. Not a veery good image, but a veery good bird.