Family:
The hermit thrush is a medium-sized, dumpy thrush with a round head, long tail, and full body. It has rich brown upperparts and a warm, reddish tail, pale underparts with dark, smudged spots on the breast and the throat. The head is brown, with a slender, straight bill, and it has a thin white eye-ring. Males and females are similar.
Hermit thrushes stand in an upright position with its head tilted and the bill slightly raised. It is typically found on the ground, where it hops while foraging, and will sometimes cock its tail and bob slowly while flicking its wings.
It has a melancholy, flute-like song consisting of several descending phrases in a minor key. Analysis has shown that the notes are related by harmonic pitch rations, similar to those found in human music.
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Hermit thrushes forage among leaf litter on forest floors looking for berries and insects. It will sometimes forage by quivering, shaking bits of grass with their feet to dislodge insects.
The hermit thrush breeds in North America from Canada and southern Alaska to the northeastern and western United States. It inhabits mixed forests and rarely visits back gardens. It spends the winter in the southern United States and central America, although some remain in northern coastal states. It is the only spotted thrush found in North America during the winter and will sometimes venture into parks and wooded gardens.
