234 



BIRDvS OF AMERICA 



HERMIT THRUSH 

 Hylocichla guttata pallasi ( Culmiiis) 



A. 1), f. Number :^qh >il- folur I'latc 105 



Other Names.— American Xightingalc; Swamp 

 Angel; Swamp Robin; Rufous-tailed Thrush; Solitary 

 Thrush. 



General Description. — Length, 7 inches. Upper 

 parts, russet-brown ; under parts, white with spots of 

 dark. Bill, about ]/, length of head, slender, gradually 

 and increasingly curved downward toward the tip ; 

 wings, rather long and pointed ; tail, not more than 3/i 

 length of wing, even, the feathers slightly sharpened at 

 the extreme tip ; legs, long and slender. 



Color. — Above, plain russet-brown, the uf^pcr tail- 

 covcrts and tail reddish-brown ; a conspicuous eye-ring 

 of dull white; lores, dull whitish mixed with dusky 

 grayish ; sides of head, grayish-brown with very nar- 

 row shaft-streaks of dull whitish; cheeks and under 

 parts dull white, the chest and hinder part of cheeks 

 tinged with pale cream-bufif; a dusky or sooty streak 

 below cheeks along each side of throat; sides of lower 

 throat with narrow wedge-shaped streaks of dusky ; 

 chest with large triangular spots of dusky grayish- 

 brown or sooty ; these more wedge-shaped, on upper 

 chest, broader and more rounded on lower chest ; 



upper breast, especially on lateral portions, spotted with 

 grayish-brown or brownish-gray ; sides and flanks, light 

 brownish-gray ; bill, dusky brown or blackish, the 

 basal half below pale grayish flesh color; iris, dark 

 brown. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Placed on or close to the 

 ground; rather bulky and made of grass, a few small 

 rootlets, leaves, sometimes bits of dried moss, and 

 rather carefully lined with finer pieces of the same 

 material. Eccs: 3 or 4, plain greenish-blue. 



Distribution. — Eastern North America ; breeding 

 from Massachusetts (Marthas Vineyard; Taconic 

 Mountains, Berkshire County, 1000 to 2900 feet), 

 Connecticut (Bear Mountains, Norfolk) ; New York 

 ( Catskills, 2300 to 2600 feet ; Peterboro ; Lake Ron- 

 konkoma. Long Island?), mountains of Pennsylvania, 

 Ontario, northern Michigan, etc., northward to Labra- 

 dor, and through Manitoba and Athabasca, to Mac- 

 kenzie; during migration southward to Gulf States 

 (Florida to Texas) wintering northward (regularly) 

 to about 39°, occasionally to lower Hudson valley, 

 New York. 



If, while you are walking throtigh deep and 

 slightly swampy woods, a bird somewhat smaller 

 than a Robin, with an olive-brownish back and 



Courtcs' 

 HERMIT THRUSH 



a dully speckled breast starts suddenly from the 

 ground, flies quickly to a low branch, looks 

 about, nervously tilting its short, rcddish-bro-n'ii 



tail and uttering a soft ivhczc or chuck mean- 

 while, and then vanishes like a wraith, mark 

 him well, for you have seen a Hermit Thrush, 

 ^inger of the purest natural melody to be heard 

 in this or, perhaps, any land. The "American 

 Nightingale," he is sometimes called ; btit there 

 are candid and competent critics who contend 

 that in purity and sweetness of tone, as well as in 

 technique, the Hermit's phrase is really finer 

 than that of the celebrated English bird. 



It is often remarked that the gaudy bird is 

 rarely a good singer, and the color scheme of the 

 Hermit's plumage is subdued and inconspictiotis 

 to a degree. Furthermore, the bird's manners 

 are modest and retiring to the point of actual 

 timidity. Always the Hermit seems to be trying 

 to elude notice, and hence his appropriate name. 



Of the Hermit's song, at its best, it is difficult 

 to speak with moderation, and it is quite impos- 

 sible to describe it adequately in words. The 

 quality of the tcftie is not reproduced faithfully 

 by any musical instrument. There is in it per- 

 haps more of the flute than of any other instru- 

 ment, though the tone is much mellower, more 

 velvety, and there is a distinct stiggestion of 

 the reed quality especially in the lower registers. 



Elementally the song is very simple. Often it 

 is reminiscent of the characteristic phrase of 

 the \\'ood Thrush. It differs, however, from all 



