Hermit Thrushes Migrating Now, Here's How to ID them.

Hermit Thrush

Hermit Thrush

Swainson's Thrush has the tail and back the same color.

Beautiful Hermit Thrushes (Catharus guttatus) are on the move and one migrant showed up in our yard yesterday and sat on our garden fence. They are the only one of the Catharus thrushes to regularly winter in North America, wintering across the southern third and up the West Coast of the U.S. A great way to ID them is to get a look at the tail. It is reddish-brown and distinct from the back. The other similar looking thrushes to the Hermit Thrush almost all have tails that are the same color as the rump and back (the quite rare Bicknell's Thrush has a warm brown tail that subtly contrasts with the brown back). The Hermit Thrush also has the distinctive habit of flicking its tail quickly up and slowly down, another ID help. Look for Hermit Thrushes now and if you live in southern areas you may see them in winter! For the most complete and authoritative information on how to ID thrushes, with many photos per species, see our

The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America, the best-selling and most complete photographic field guide, and the regional versions,

The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region and
The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds:Western Region.

Happy Birding!