Towheeblog

Until this morning I’d been seeing Varied Thrush only up in the mountains here in most southern Oregon.  Today they were feasting on berries in Lithia Park across the street from our house.  That’s at 2000′ elevation. This bird is either female or juvenile, not like the two brightly colored adult males also in the same berried bush.  Please note they are feeding in an exotic, not a native plant.  Most of our local native plants are nearly berry-less this year because of drought.  This exotic is in the park so it may get some irrigation water that mistletoe and manzanita don’t.