Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 5.5–7.1 in
14–18 cm - Wingspan
- 9.8–11.4 in
25–29 cm - Weight
- 0.8–1.3 oz
23–37 g
Other Names
- Grive solitaire (French)
- Zorzalito colirrufo (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- In the Appalachian Mountains the Hermit Thrush is displaced at lower elevations by the Veery and at higher elevations by Swainson's Thrush, leaving the middle altitudes for the Hermit Thrush.
- East of the Rocky Mountains the Hermit Thrush usually nests on the ground. In the West, it is more likely to nest in trees.
Habitat
Forest
- Breeds in interior of deciduous, mixed, and coniferous forest, favoring internal forest edges.
- Winters in moist and dense cover of woody growth, forests, open woodlands, and in the northern part of range especially in ravines and sheltered sites.
Food
Insects
Insects and other arthropods, fruit.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 2–5 eggs
- Egg Description
- Color: Light blue with occasional brown flecks or spots.
Size: 19.6-25.0 mm x 15.4-18.3 mm
(0.8-1.0 in x 0.6-0.7 in)
Incubation period: 11-13 days. - Condition at Hatching
- Helpless with some sparse down.
Chicks fledge in 11-12 days.
Nest Description
Nest a bulky cup of grasses, leaves, mosses, twigs, rootlets, hair, mud, and lichens, lined with fine rootlets, fine grasses, hair, moss, bark, and willow catkins. Placed on ground or low in small trees.
Nest Placement
Ground
Behavior
Ground Forager
Forages on ground by watching for movement, and by digging in leaf litter.
Conservation
Least Concern
Populations increasing slightly continentwide.
Credits
- Jones, P. W., and T. M. Donovan. 1996. Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus). In The Birds of North America, No. 261 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.