Hermit Thrush

Hermit Thrush

Catharus guttatus

The Hermit Thrush is the only member of its genus to spend the winter in North America. It changes its diet from eating nearly entirely insects in summer to one of equal parts insects and fruit in winter.

Cool Facts		Photo taken from: The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America by David Allen Sibley
In the Appalachian Mountains the Hermit Thrush is displaced at lower elevations by the Veery and at higher elevations by Swainson's Thrush, leaving the middle altitudes for the Hermit Thrush. East of the Rocky Mountains the Hermit Thrush usually nests on the ground. In the West, it is more likely to nest in trees.
Description
Adult Description Medium-sized thrush. Brown back, reddish tail. Black spots on chest. Thin white eyering. Cocks tail up and flicks wings frequently; lifts tail up quickly, lowers it slowly.	Immature Description Like adult.

Range Map

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Turdidae
Genus:	Catharus
Species:	Catharus guttatus
Subspecies:	Catharus guttatus auduboni Catharus guttatus crymophilus Catharus guttatus faxoni Catharus guttatus guttatus Catharus guttatus nanus Catharus guttatus polionutus Catharus guttatus sequoiensis Catharus guttatus sleveni

Sound

Song a melodious, fluty warble, mostly on one pitch, starting with a clear whistled note. Call a low "chuck" and a high, harsh "screy."

Identification and Information

See Anatomy of a Bird

Body

Length Range: 17 cm (6.75 in)
Weight: 31 g (1.1 oz)
Size: Small (5 - 9 in)
Color Primary: Brown
Underparts: White with dark spotting and buff breast with dark spotting.
Upperparts: Gray-brown
Back Pattern: Solid
Belly Pattern: Solid
Breast Pattern: Spotted or speckled

Head

Bill Shape: All-purpose
Eye Color: Brown or dark brown.
Head Pattern: Plain, Eyering, Malar or malar stripe
Crown Color: Gray-brown
Forehead Color: Gray-brown
Nape Color: Gray-brown
Throat Color: Buff with dark streaking.
Cere color: No Data

Flight

Flight Pattern: Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Wingspan Range: 29 cm (11.5 in)
Wing Shape: Rounded-Wings
Tail Shape: Fan-shaped Tail
Tail Pattern: Solid
Upper Tail: Red
Under Tail: White
Leg Color: Pink

Breeding

Breeding Location: Forests, coniferous, Forest edge
Breeding Type: Monogamous, Solitary nester
Breeding Population: Fairly common
Egg Color: Green blue sometimes with black flecks
Number of Eggs: 3 - 6
Incubation Days: 12 - 13
Egg Incubator: Female
Nest Material: Weeds, rotted wood, twigs, mud, and other fine materials.
Migration: Most migrate
Condition at Hatching: Helpless with some sparse down. Chicks fledge in 11-12 days.

Other Names

Similar Species

Grive solitaire (French)
Zorzalito colirrufo (Spanish)

Browner races of Swainson's Thrush similar, but have buffy eyering and a strong buffy wash to lower cheeks and breast, and tail does not contrast strongly with back.
Gray-cheeked and Bicknell's thrushes have only a partial eyering, and the tail does not contrast as sharply with the back. The Bicknell's Thrush may have a chestnut tail, but not as bright rufous.

Conservation Status

Populations increasing slightly continent wide.

Habitat

Sources used to Construct this Page:

Breeds in interior of deciduous, mixed, and coniferous forest, favoring internal forest edges.
Winters in moist and dense cover of woody growth, forests, open woodlands, and in the northern part of range especially in ravines and sheltered sites.

Jones, P. W., and T. M. Donovan. 1996. Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus). In The Birds of North America, No. 261 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.