602 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE TO SEMITE 



Hermit Thrushes. Hylocichla guttata (Pallas)^" 



Field characters. — Decidedly larger than Junco, but not ^o large as Russet -backed 

 Thrush; bill short and slender. Upper surface plain brown, rufous tinged on tail; ring 

 of buff around eye; wing with a concealed band of buffy, shown forth in flight; breast 

 buflfy with numerous triangular dark spots; sides grayish, not streaked; belly white. 

 (See pi. lie.) Manner quiet; every few seconds, when bird is perched, the ends of 

 the wings are spasmodically twitched and the tail is elevated and then slowly depres.sed. 

 Voice: Song of male clear and musical, consisting of phrases uttered at varying inter- 

 vals, each phrase of three to six 'words,' with the pitch of successive phrases now high, 

 now low, etc.; usual call note a rather low soft sup. 



Oc<mrrence. — Common summer visitant on west slope of Sierra Nevada, chieflj' in 

 Canadian Zone; also spring transient near Mono Lake (subspecies sequoiensis) . Fall 

 visitant at all altitudes on west slope, and winter visitant there below level of heavy snow 

 (subspecies guttata and nanus). ^^ Keeps chiefly to wooded glades and ravine bottoms 

 in summer; in winter affects sheltered situations generally, even chaparral. Solitary. 



The Hermit Thrush, as a species, exhibits in extreme degree the unob- 

 trusiveness of manner which characterizes many other members of the 

 thrush family. It is g'arbed in plain colors of subdued tone, it has a sedate 

 bearing, and save when singing its regular song is notably silent. The bird 

 does not restrict itself to thick foliage as does the Varied Thrush and yet 

 it does not forage out far bej^ond the cover of the vegetation in the way 

 of the robin, choosing, rather, territory of intermediate nature. In sum- 

 mer the birds live in shaded glades amid coniferous trees or in sheltered 

 canon bottoms; in winter, when the species is more abundantly repre- 

 sented, the Hermits are found in similar places and also under the cover 

 of chaparral on the hillsides. 



Visitors in Yosemite Valley in some years have been fortunate in find- 

 ing Hermit Thrushes settled fearlessly within the limits of one or more 

 of the tent cities. Here the birds are seen most often at dusk, or, if at 



39 Three closely similar subspecies of the Hermit Thrush have been found in the 

 Yosemite region. These are so much alike that they probably cannot be distinguished 

 in life; the Sierran race is the only one present in summer. 



Sierra Hermit Thrush, Hylocichla guttata sequoiensis (Belding), a relatively large 

 sized, pale-colored subspecies (pi. lie) which summers from the Cascade Mountains to 

 southern California, was found by us from Hazel Green and Chinquapin eastward 

 through Yosemite Valley to Washburn Lake and Tuolumne Meadows. It was already 

 present at Hazel Green on May 13, 1919, and was recorded at Washburn Lake August 28, 

 1915; a single individual was collected at Ten Lakes, October 8, 1915. One was noted 

 at Mono Lake Post Office on May 23, 1916. 



Alaska Hermit Thrush, Hylocichla guttata guttata (Pallas), a smaller race of 

 medium-brown tone of color found in summer in southwestern and interior Alaska, is a 

 common winter visitant on the west slope of the Yosemite region from Yosemite Valley 

 westward to Pleasant Valley and Lagrange. The earliest definite record of arrival is 

 for October 6, 1915, on Yosemite Creek at 7500 feet altitude. 



DvFARF Hermit Thrush, Hylocichla guttata nonus (Audubon), a smaller, dark- 

 colored form whose summer range embraces the coast strip of southeastern Alaska, comes 

 to the Yosemite region as a winter visitant in fair numbers. It has been recorded from 

 Glen Aulin (October 4, 1915) westward to Sweetwater Creek at 3800 feet altitude. 



