152 BULLETIN 196, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Plumages. — The plumages and molts of the hermit thrush have 

 been described by Jonathan Dwight (1900) as follows: 



Juvenal plumage acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including 

 sides of head, sepia or olive-brown, the rump russet, and everywhere spotted 

 with large buffy white guttate spots bordered with black. The wings rather 

 darker, the coverts and tertiaries with small terminal buffy spots. Tail burnt 

 umber-brown. Below, white faintly tinged with buff, spotted with deep black, 

 on the sides of neck, across the breast and on the flanks and crissum, the throat 

 and breast, the fore part of the abdomen and flanks faintly barred. Bill and feet 

 dull pinkish buff remaining pale when older. * * * 



First winter plumage acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult, beginning late 

 in August, which involves the body plumage, most of the lesser and median 

 coverts, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Similar to previous plumage 

 but without spotting above and the black spots below fewer. Above, including 

 sides of head olive tinged mummy-brown, burnt-umber on rump and upper tail 

 coverts. Below, white tinged faintly with buff on throat and breast, with olive 

 gray on the sides and spotted heavily on the throat and faintly on the breast 

 with large deltoid black spots. Lores and submalar lines black; orbital ring pale 

 buff. The buff spotted coverts retained distinguish young from adults. * * * 



First nuptial plumage acquired by wear, the upper surface becoming rather 

 grayer and the buff below mostly lost. 



Adult winter plumage acquired by a complete post-nuptial moult in August 

 and September. Averages darker and lacks the tell-tale coverts and tertials of 

 the first winter dress. Young and old become indistinguishable. 



Adult nuptial plumage acquired by wear as in the young bird, from which it 

 is usually distinguishable by the wing coverts. 



The plumages and molts are alike in the two sexes. 



Dr. Alexander Wetmore (1936) has determined the number of 

 contour feathers in a number of passeriform and related birds. His 

 counts of the contour feathers of three hermit thrushes is as follows: 



Apparently albinism is not of frequent occurrence in the hermit 

 thrush as only two cases have come to my attention. John H. Sage 

 (1886) reports a partial albino hermit thrush taken at Portland, Conn., 

 on October 27, 1885, which had the top of the head and the back light 

 gray. Below it was white, the spots on the breast fairly distinct. 

 The primaries and secondaries were a fawn color. A pure albino 

 hermit thrush was shot at Stamford, Conn., by W. H. Sanford. 



Food. — F. E. L. Beal (1915b) examined the stomach contents of 551 

 hermit thrushes, which were collected in 29 States, the District of 

 Columbia, and Canada. These specimens represent every month of 



