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Species Profile:
Hermit Thrush
The Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) is
an extraordinarily gifted singer. Listening
to its ethereal song has even been
described
by some bird lovers as a quasi-religious
experience.
The song begins with a distinct, bell-like
note, followed by several clear, reedy,
rising
and falling notes. The Hermit sings
several
phrases, similar in form but at different
pitches, separated by long pauses,
each introduced
by that beautiful silvery note. A variety
of call notes, including a "whisper"
call, round out the Hermit's repertoire.
Distinguished from other thrushes by its
russet tail, the Hermit has a brownish
back,
pale eye-ring and spotted whitish breast.
A peculiar characteristic of this songbird
is the way it lifts then slowly lowers
its
tail while perched on a branch or a
fence.
As the name would suggest, Hermit Thrushes
are very secretive. They move short
distances
by gliding low over the ground, hopping
or
running. Always alert to danger, this
thrush
will lower its breast until it almost
touches
the ground, raise its tail and droop
its
wings before getting up the courage
to move.
Then it will run a few steps, lift
its head
and search the ground for food. Hermit
Thrushes
turn over fallen leaves, and glean
insects
or spiders from branches and the foliage
of trees (especially conifers) and
shrubs.
They will also eat wild fruits, berries
and
small invertebrates, especially on
their
wintering grounds in the southern U.S.
The Hermit arrives on its breeding ground
(which includes all of Ontario except
the
southwest) earlier than our other thrush
species. The female builds the nest,
a very
dense, compact struc-ture. The foundation
and exterior are composed of twigs,
strips
of wood, bark fibres, dried grasses
and ferns.
Green moss is used to adorn the outside.
The nest is usually built on the ground in
a natural depression, often under an
evergreen
whose branches touch the ground. (Jack
pine
plains and plantations of other conifers
are preferred breeding grounds, although
Hermits also use deciduous forest and
edge
habitats, ideally near water.) The
depression
or nesting bowl is lined with pine
needles,
fine rootlets and plant fibres in a
very
neat, circular pattern.
The three to six eggs are greenish blue to
light blue, sprinkled with dark spots
towards
the large end. They hatch in 10 to
13 days.
The female incubates the eggs, only
leaving
the nest for brief foraging excursions
or
if disturbed. The male occupies his
days
bringing food to his mate, singing
and guarding
his territory. At the first sign of
alarm
he gives a "chuck, chuck"
call
accompanied by the characteristic tail
movement.
If the female has left the nest she
returns
cautiously, landing a few metres away,
stopping
frequently to check for predators as
she
creeps back under cover of vegetation.
The
male is just as careful, if not more
so,
when approaching the nest.
After the eggs hatch, the parents get caught
up in the whirlwind of feeding and
caring
for their babies, and drop their "overprotective"
demeanour. Young birds are ready to
leave
the nest when they are 12 days old.
The parents
perch some distance from the nest with
a
choice morsel of food and call to their
young.
When a chick works up enough nerve,
it leaps
from the rim of the nest, flutters
its wings
and runs along the ground to its parent.
Sometime between late August and mid-October
the young of the year will join their
parents
in the migration south. During that
long
journey far too many of the normally
shy
Hermit Thrushes are exposed to human
contact
and the bleak landscape of downtown
city
streets; the Hermit is by far the most
abundant
thrush in FLAP records. There's a strange
irony here. After hearing a Hermit
Thrush
singing at dusk the great turn-of-the-century
naturalist John Burroughs wrote: "Listening
to this strain on the lone mountain
with
the full moon just rounded on the horizon,
the pomp of your cities and the pride
of
your civilization seemed trivial and
cheap."
Richard Tofflemire
Richard has been an avid birdwatcher for
10 years. The Hermit Thrush was the
first
songbird to capture his attention.
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