A hybrid thrush has been found on Stratton Mountain in Vermont.  The bird, which was determined through DNA analysis to be part Bicknell’s Thrush and part Veery, was found by researchers with the Vermont Center for Ecostudies who were studying Bicknell’s Thrush on the breeding grounds.  It was first noticed by a researcher who heard it singing the song of a Veery that ended with the song of a Bicknell’s Thrush.  The bird was then captured and blood was drawn for testing.

Veerys do not nest at high elevations and Bicknell’s Thrush only nest on mountaintops so how the hybrid came to be is certainly one heck of a mystery.  Did a Veery, perhaps encouraged by warming global temperatures, venture forth to a mountaintop for some forbidden love with another species?  Or did an amorous Bicknell’s Thrush descend to do the deed with a lowland-loving Veery?  While that mystery may never be solved, we here at 10,000 Birds would like to help come up with a name for the new hybrid (though the discoverers’ of the bird will most likely actually get to name it we figure it can’t hurt to throw a couple of ideas their way).  Share your nominations in the comments!

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.