The Hermit Thrushes 
higher up and more removed, to stand motionless for a minute or so, 
or else to chuckle softly with each twinkle of the ready wings. By 
following quietly one may put the bird to a dozen short flights without 
once driving it out of range; and in so doing, he may learn that the tail 
is abruptly rufous in contrast with the olive-brown of the back, and that 
the breast is more boldly and distinctly spotted than is the case with 
the Russet-backed Thrush. 
Perhaps the most prominent characteristic of the Hermit Thrush, 
and the one which does most to remove it from the commonplace, is the 
incessant twinkling of the wings—the action is so rapid and the return 
to the state of repose so incalculably quick that the general impression or 
silhouette is not thereby disturbed; but we have an added feeling of 
mobility or tensity on the part of the bird which gives one the impression 
of spiritual alertness, a certain high readiness. I tried on a time to count 
these twinkles, with the compensatory flirt of the tail, as the bird was 
hopping about on the ground in my rose garden. The movements 
occurred about once per second, yet oftenest in groups, and so rapidly, 
that not a twentieth part of the bird’s time seemed so consumed. 
Taken in Inyo County Photo by the Author 
A NESTING HAUNT OF THE SIERRA HERMIT THRUSH 
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