BC Conservation Data Centre: Conservation Status Report
Catharus fuscescens
Veery
| Scientific Name: | Catharus fuscescens |
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| English Name: | Veery |
| Provincial Status Summary | |
| Status: | S5B |
| Date Status Assigned: | April 21, 2015 |
| Date Last Reviewed: | March 05, 2015 |
| Reasons: | Widespread breeder and nonbreeder (migratory) mostly in southern BC. Moderate numbers thought to be stable, possible decline over past 50+ years in the Okanagan valley. Frequent cowbird host. |
| Range | |
| Range Extent: | FG = 20,000-2,500,000 square km |
| Range Extent Comments: | Breeds throughout the southern third of the interior (in Southern Interior and southern portions of the Sub-Boreal Interior ecoprovinces around Quesnel). It also breeds around Terrace and Ascaphus Creek near the Skeena river on the northern mainland coast; and singing males suggest that it breeds as far east as Bella Coola and as far north as the Nass River valley. Nests from 105-1,050m. Nonbreeders (C) are found in the southern third of BC east of the Pacific and Cascade Mountains, from Princeton east to the Crowsnest Pass and north to the Cariboo and Chilcotin areas. Further north its distribution is more sparse found as far as Prince George region to the West of the Rocky Mountains and in the Peace Lowland near Cecil and Boundary lakes to the east. It occurs on the Fraser River delta and along SE Vancouver Island; along the coast only in east-west aligned valleys (e.g. Nass, Skeena, Bella Coola, and Kemano rivers) and north to Stewart at the head of Portland Canal. No winter records (Campbell et al. 1997). |
| Occurrences & Population | |
| Number of Occurrences: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Comments: | Widespread breeder and nonbreeder (D) in interior. |
| Number of Occurrences with Good Viability / Ecological Integrity: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Number of Occurrences Appropriately Protected & Managed: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Comments: | Beacon Hill Park (Victoria), Stanley Park (Vancouver), Mount Seymour Park, Golden Ears Park, Okanagan Falls Provincial Park, Wells Gray Park, Boundary Lake Nature Trust, Cecil Lake Ecological Reserve, etc. |
| Population Size: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Comments: | Breeds. Nonbreeders (BC?): an uncommon to locally fairly common migrant and summer visitant to the Okanagan and Thompson valleys, the kootenay and Columbia valleys, and the Cariboo and Chilcotin areas; very rare in the sothern Sub-Boreal Interior Ecoprovince; rare and local in the Peace Lowland. Very rare migrant and local summer visitant to the Fraser River delta and along SE Vancouver Island; uncommon to fairly common locally in the southern mainland and rare to uncommon locally in the northern mainland of the Coast and Mountains Ecoprovince (including lower Skeena and Nass river valleys). No wintering birds (Campbell et al. 1997). |
| Threats (to population, occurrences, or area affected) | |
| Degree of Threat: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Comments: | Frequent cowbird host (24% of 74 nests found). |
| Trend (in population, range, area occupied, and/or condition of occurrences) | |
| Short-Term Trend: | G = Relatively Stable (<=10% change) |
| Comments: |
Analysis of Breeding Bird Surveys (1968-1993) did not detect a net change in numbers on interior routes (Campbell et al. 1997). Cannings et al. (1987) suggest that populations in the Okanagan valley have declined in the past 50 years due to cutting and clearing of riparian woodlands - this decline may have occurred before results from the Breeding Bird Surveys (pre-1968). ***24% marginally sig. decline (0.05 |
| Long-Term Trend: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Other Factors | |
| Intrinsic Vulnerability: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Environmental Specificity: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Other Rank Considerations: | |
| Information Gaps | |
| Research Needs: | |
| Inventory Needs: | Standardized inventories (RIC 1999c, No. 15) to monitor breeding populations. |
| Stewardship | |
| Protection: | |
| Management: | |
| Version | |
| Author: | Ramsay, L.R. and B. Niedzielski and L. Westereng |
| Date: | January 29, 2015 |
| References | |
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Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J.M. Cooper, G.W. Kaiser, M.C.E. McNall and G.E.J. Smith 1997. The Birds of British Columbia, Vol. 3, Passerines: Flycatchers through Vireos. UBC Press in cooperation with Environ. Can., Can. Wildl. Serv. and B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch. 700pp.
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Cannings, R.A., R.J. Cannings, and S.G. Cannings. 1987. Birds of the Okanagan Valley, B.C. Royal B.C. Mus., Victoria, BC. 420pp.
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Downes, C.M., and B.T. Collins. 2007. Canadian Bird Trends Web site Version 2.2. Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, K1A 0H3.
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Resource Inventory Committee. 1999e. Inventory Methods for Forest and Grassland Songbirds. Standards for Components of British Columbia's Biodiversity. No. 15. Version 2.0.
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Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2007. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2006. Version 10.13.2007. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for information on how the CDC determines conservation status ranks. For global conservation status reports and ranks, please visit the NatureServe website http://www.natureserve.org/.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2015. Conservation Status Report: Catharus fuscescens. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed May 8, 2025).