Catharus guttatus
Order Passeriformes
Family Turdidae
Adult.— Head, back, and wings olive-brown; tail reddish-brown; throat and breast white, spotted with black.
Nest, on the ground.
Eggs, pale greenish-blue.
The Hermit Thrush is a common summer resident of northern New York and New England, of the higher portions of the Catskill region, and of Berkshire and Worcester counties, Massachusetts. It also breeds here and there in cool woods in eastern Massachusetts, and on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. It occasionally spends the winter in southern New England and the lower Hudson Valley, feeding at that season on berries.
In April and early May, and in October, it is a not uncommon migrant in woodland and thickets, flying up when disturbed into the low limbs of neighboring trees or to stone walls. Here, if it is conscious of observation, it expresses its excitement by slowly elevating its tail, till it makes a considerable angle with the body. This action is also characteristic of the bird when disturbed on its breeding-ground, and is then accompanied by a harsh, nasal speke, or a thin, hissing note, like the Robin’s. It also has in the breeding season a sweet call-note, like the introductory note of its song; this is often heard about the nest, when the birds are not alarmed. Its ordinary note on migration is a chuck. It sings very rarely when on migration, and with only a hint of the power which it reserves for its northern home. As a second brood is raised in late July and early August, the male is in full song at that season.
The song of the Hermit Thrush is, next to that of the White-throated Sparrow, the most noticeable feature of the cool woods of northern New York and New England; it is heard both in deciduous and evergreen forests, but on the higher mountains above 3000 feet it is replaced by the song of the Olive-backed Thrush [Swainson’s Thrush]. Its voice bears a strong resemblance in quality to that of the Wood Thrush, so that the identity of the common thrush of any one region is often a matter of constant discussion among amateur lovers of birds. The ranges of the two overlap so little that it ought to be easy from a study of the map to make a shrewd guess; the form of the song should then decide the matter. The song of the Wood Thrush begins with a phrase which suggests the syllables ee-o-lee, and continues with phrases, often containing notes separated by great intervals. The song of the Hermit is divided into cadences of different pitch. Each cadence is introduced by a pure fluted note, then follow two or three higher notes, given with a tremolo effect. These are either all three on the same pitch, or more often the last two are a little higher or lower than the first. The introductory note is held long enough to give a calm, meditative effect to the song; it also serves to give the pitch to the cadences, one of which is so high that it is hardly to be heard at a distance; the others are very full, soprano or mezzosoprano. There are no bass notes, such as the Wood Thrush strikes, and no great intervals between any two notes.
Its reddish-brown tail and the trick of raising it slowly, distinguish the Hermit from the other thrushes. (See also under Fox Sparrow.)
Hoffmann – A Guide to the Birds of New England and Eastern New York (1904)