Hermit Thrush
Encyclopedia
The Hermit Thrush is a medium-sized North America
n thrush
. It is not very closely related to the other North American migrant
species of Catharus, but rather to the Mexican
Russet Nightingale-thrush
.
, Alaska
, and the northeastern and western United States
. They make a cup nest on the ground or relatively low in a tree.
Hermit Thrushes migrate to wintering grounds in the southern United States
and south to Central America
but some remain in northern coastal US states and southern Ontario
. Although they usually only breed in forests, Hermit Thrushes will sometimes winter in parks and wooded suburban neighbourhoods. They are very rare vagrants to western Europe
. It has also occurred as a vagrant in northeast Asia.
They forage on the forest floor, also in trees or shrubs, mainly eating insects and berries.
The Hermit Thrush is the state bird of Vermont
.
Walt Whitman
construes the Hermit Thrush as a symbol of the American voice, poetic and otherwise, in his elegy for Abraham Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd
," one of the fundamental texts in the American literary canon. "A Hermit Thrush" is the name of a poem by the American poet Amy Clampitt
. A Hermit Thrush appears in the fifth section ("What the Thunder Said") of the T. S. Eliot
poem The Waste Land
.
Former Canadian indie-rock band Thrush Hermit
took their name from a reversal of the two parts. It is also shared by the American bands Hermit Thrushes and Hermit Thrush
.
The song of the Hermit Thrush is audible in the "Garden" stage of Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n thrush
Thrush (bird)
The thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur worldwide.-Characteristics:Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground or eat small fruit. The smallest thrush may be the Forest Rock-thrush, at and...
. It is not very closely related to the other North American migrant
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
species of Catharus, but rather to the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
Russet Nightingale-thrush
Russet Nightingale-thrush
The Russet Nightingale-thrush is a species of bird in the Turdidae family.It is endemic to Mexico.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Description:...
.
Description
This species is 15–17 cm in length, and has the white-dark-white underwing pattern characteristic of Catharus thrushes. Adults are mainly brown on the upperparts, with reddish tails. The underparts are white with dark spots on the breast and grey or brownish flanks. They have pink legs and a white eye ring. Birds in the east are more olive-brown on the upperparts; western birds are more grey-brown.Behaviour
Their breeding habitat is coniferous or mixed woods across CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, and the northeastern and western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. They make a cup nest on the ground or relatively low in a tree.
Hermit Thrushes migrate to wintering grounds in the southern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and south to Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
but some remain in northern coastal US states and southern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Although they usually only breed in forests, Hermit Thrushes will sometimes winter in parks and wooded suburban neighbourhoods. They are very rare vagrants to western Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It has also occurred as a vagrant in northeast Asia.
They forage on the forest floor, also in trees or shrubs, mainly eating insects and berries.
Song
The Hermit Thrush's song is ethereal and flute-like, consisting of a beginning note, then several descending musical phrases in a minor key, repeated at different pitches. They often sing from a high open location.In culture
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
.
Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
construes the Hermit Thrush as a symbol of the American voice, poetic and otherwise, in his elegy for Abraham Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd is an elegy written by Walt Whitman shortly after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865...
," one of the fundamental texts in the American literary canon. "A Hermit Thrush" is the name of a poem by the American poet Amy Clampitt
Amy Clampitt
-Life:Amy Clampitt was born on June 15, 1920 of Quaker parents, and brought up in New Providence, Iowa. In the American Academy of Arts and Letters and at nearby Grinnell College she began a study of English literature that eventually led her to poetry. She graduated from Grinnell College, and from...
. A Hermit Thrush appears in the fifth section ("What the Thunder Said") of the T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
poem The Waste Land
The Waste Land
The Waste Land[A] is a 434-line[B] modernist poem by T. S. Eliot published in 1922. It has been called "one of the most important poems of the 20th century." Despite the poem's obscurity—its shifts between satire and prophecy, its abrupt and unannounced changes of speaker, location and time, its...
.
Former Canadian indie-rock band Thrush Hermit
Thrush Hermit
-History:Thrush Hermit was formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1992 by Joel Plaskett , Rob Benvie , Ian McGettigan , and Michael Catano...
took their name from a reversal of the two parts. It is also shared by the American bands Hermit Thrushes and Hermit Thrush
Dispatch (band)
Dispatch is an American indie/roots band. The band consists of Brad Corrigan , Pete Francis Heimbold , and Chad Urmston ....
.
The song of the Hermit Thrush is audible in the "Garden" stage of Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii.
Works cited
Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern- Winker, Kevin & Pruett, Christin L. (2006): Seasonal migration, speciation, and morphological convergence in the avian genus Catharus (Turdidae). Auk 123(4): 1052-1068. [Article in English with Spanish abstract] DOIDigital object identifierA digital object identifier is a character string used to uniquely identify an object such as an electronic document. Metadata about the object is stored in association with the DOI name and this metadata may include a location, such as a URL, where the object can be found...
: 10.1642/0004-8038(2006)123[1052:SMSAMC]2.0.CO;2 PDF fulltext - Farrand, John & Bull, John, The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Eastern Region, National Audubon Society (1977)
External links
- Hermit Thrush - Catharus guttarus - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Hermit Thrush Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Hermit Thrush Information - South Dakota Birds and Birding