The varied thrush was formally described by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789 under the binomial name Turdus naevius.

[2] Gmelin based his description of the "Spotted thrush" that had been described by John Latham in 1783 from specimens owned by Joseph Banks.

It is similar in size to the widespread American robin, though the varied is on average shorter with a heavier, more robust build.

[9] Adult males exhibit medium orange with a curved gray pattern at the breasts and throats, with grayish-blue tail ends, scruffs, and crowns.

Females' markings are not as well-defined, with olive-browns and grays, brown hind feathers, and indiscernible gray-brown plumage near the breasts.

[11] A very rare British vagrant in 1982 was of this type, leading to speculation that whatever mutation causes the colour variation also affects the navigational abilities of this thrush.

This species is an improbable transatlantic vagrant, but there are now two accepted western European records, both in Great Britain, in 1982 and on Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands in October 2021.

During migration and winter, however, the focus of the thrush's diet shifts to fruits, seeds, and acorns, though arthropods are still taken in some quantity.

Varied thrushes consume a wide variety of berries throughout the year, including snowberry, red huckleberry, California honeysuckle, madrone, salmonberry, and thimbleberry.