My good friend Alison Clarke looked out her window Wednesday morning to see a gorgeous male Varied Thrush! I was getting ready for my flight so couldn't run over to see it, but the cooperative bird has been sticking around in her neighborhood, visiting her feeder throughout the days ever since. So this morning I went over to watch the bird in luxury. I sat there eating delicious, fresh-baked cranberry bread and drinking coffee while feasting my eyes. The bird came several times while I was there. The new snow is deep, it was murky and dark, and I photographed him from inside, through a plastic-covered (winterized) window, so my photos aren't nearly as good as the bird is beautiful. If I get a sunny day this week, I'll go back and photograph him from outside. If you're in Duluth, you can follow the hotline directions to find it.
As with most species, you can read about the Varied Thrush and hear its sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds website, at the Varied Thrush entry.