Hermit Thrush
By Vera Markham
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Photo by Vera Markham
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The hermit thrush is one of the most common thrushes of the western
states and is considered by many, to have the most beautiful haunting,
flute-like song. The two photos of the breed, shown above,
were taken by me in October 2007 in Sun City. It breeds in mixed
woodlands and moist coniferous forest in Canada, the extreme
northeastern USA, and mountainous regions of the western USA. It
is the only brown thrush to be likely seen in cold weather. It
migrates early in spring and later in the fall than other
thrushes. They are short to long distance migrants that winter in
the southern and western U.S. and down into Central America as far as
Guatemala. The hermit thrush is the state bird of Vermont.
Description & Breeding: This species is about 7” long, has a
white eye ring and pink legs. Adults are mainly brown on the
upperparts, with reddish tails. The under parts are white with
dark spots on the breast and grey or brownish flanks. They have a
habit, when alarmed, to flick their wings and raise and lower their
tails. Hermit thrushes forage on the forest floor, also in
trees or shrubs, mainly eating insects and berries. The female
builds a cup nest of grass, bark strips, mud and weeds near the ground
or in low branches of trees. Approximately three to six blue to
bluish-green eggs (most common are four) are layed and are hatched in
12 to 13 days. The young leave the nest in about two weeks.
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