Hermit Thrushes Catharus guttatus
Central Park, New York, 18 April 2006.

Hermit Thrushes breed from southern Alaska across Canada to Newfoundland, south to California in the west and Maryland in the east. Typically they are the only Catharus species seen in the US during winter, and are the first to return north.

According to Sibley (”The North American Bird Guide” 2000) there are three main population groups of Hermit Thrush, separable on colour tones (dingy-brown in the West, pale and greyish in the Interior West, and brighter and cleaner in the East) and some morphological characteristics (eg bill size - thin in western birds and thicker in the east) but there is wide integration and the differences are perhaps too clinal to make separation in the field possible. Just to complicate matters further ‘Eastern’ Hermit Thrushes faxoni additionally occur in two colour morphs - one morph has predominantly rufous upperparts, the only predominantly greyish. I’ve also noticed how the tone of the plumage can change dramatically depending on whether the bird is in sunlight or shade: one moment you’re looking at a greyish thrush with noticeably contrastingly rufous wing coverts and tail, the next the contrast has been lost and the entire bird looks rufous.

It makes identification on plumages TONES alone almost impossible - but all Hermit Thrushes share a plain face with a very visible white eye-ring, the breast is only sparsely and sparingly spotted, and the flanks are usually entirely unspotted. As on other Catharus thrushes, the underwing is stongly patterned - though as most species tend to fly low across the ground with rapid wing movements this is difficult to see in the field.

An often quoted field character is that Hermit Thrushes tend to flick up their tails and slowly lower them again - I’ve noted this behaviour on occasions, but few of the ten or so seen today were doing this.

Figure 1: Central Park, New York. 15 April 2006
A greyish-toned bird photographed early morning in poor light.

 

Figure 2: Central Park, New York. 15 April 2006
A brighter bird photographed partly in shade and partly in sunlight.

 

Figure 3: Central Park, New York. 15 April 2006
A dull bird photographed in the shade where it almost approaches a Grey-cheeked Thrush in tone:
note though the eye-ring and distinctively rufous primary coverts and tail.

 

Figures 4, 5, and 6: Central Park, New York. 15 April 2006
The same bird photographed as it changes angle etc.

 

Figure 7: Central Park, New York. 15 April 2006
Another very dull bird, though still showing a contrastingly rufous rump and upper tail.

 

Figure 8: Central Park, New York. 15 April 2006
Catharus thrushes are small and stocky compared with Turdus thrushes, and are usually distinctive:
occasionally though they can look more typically “thrush-like”, which can make one seen briefly a little more tricky to identify even to genus.

 

 

Figure 9: Central Park, New York. 07 October 2004.
A bright individual photographed in autumn.

Also see: Hermit Thrush: Chicago, April 2005

All photographs © Charlie Moores