Hermit Thrush: Ushering in Spring

While it may seem like I've spent most of my birding time in the past few weeks concentrating on sparrows, the truth of the matter is, when out in nature one never knows what will turn up - and every wildlife encounter is special!  It seems that nearly everywhere I've looked this winter I have found Hermit Thrushes, quietly going about their business in the underbrush.  

The particular individual featured here popped up in front of me while I was birding around the campus at Stan State the other day, allowing me to snap a few decent photos.  


Though brown in color, plain and drab at first glimpse, I think the Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) is one of our most beautiful birds, with its large, liquid eyes, equal parts soft and expressive, and completely endearing spotted breast.  Anthropomorphizing, the Hermit Thrush brings to mind adjectives like shy, quiet, and gentle, one of the introverts of the avian world, a true kindred spirit!

Like other thrushes, the Hermit Thrush is renowned for its beautiful song, which is often described as haunting or ethereal.  It is one of my all-time favorite bird songs: evocative of shady glens in dappled forest thickets, it is one of the most delightful of the sounds of summer in the Sierra.

Listen to the song of the Hermit Thrush here.


In California, Hermit Thrushes breed in the coniferous forests of the Sierra Nevada and mountains of the north coast, where they nest in low vegetation or on the ground in small forest openings.  In the winter, they move down into the Central Valley, as well as south along the coast and into Southern California, where they seem to prefer woodland areas with a thick understory.  I have also seen them a number of times in less wild areas, foraging on lawns, always within a few feet of the cover of low, dense shrubs.


Furtive birds of dappled forests, Hermit Thrushes have a soft, gentle appearance and generally quiet presence.  Doe-eyed birds with shy habits, they never give the impression of drawing attention to themselves, like other more flashy songsters.  However secretive they are in their habits, singing males are often the best clue to this bird's presence; listen quietly and follow your ears for a glimpse, looking low in the foliage.  In the winter, listen for the Hermit Thrush's very soft chup call coming from deep in thick undergrowth.


Though similar in appearance to the closely related Swainson's Thrush, Hermit Thrushes are the only one of the two species likely to be found in the Central Valley (or anywhere in California) during the winter, as Swainson's Thrushes winter farther south in the tropics.  But when in doubt, during migration or summer, one of the best ways to distinguish between the two species is to look for the contrasting rufous tail of the Hermit Thrush.


Soon we will bid farewell to overwintering Hermit Thrushes, as they will return north and upslope to shady forests of conifers for the summer.  Keep an eye out for these beautiful songbirds over the next month or so; they should be with us, here in the Central Valley, until early May.  

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