Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus
Flight call description A plaintive, pure-toned, descending "heeoo".
Fig.1. New York August 4, 1989 (WRE).
Perched bird with Red Squirrel in the background. Note vegetation reflection.
Similar species Swainson's Thrush similar but more abrupt, lower-pitched, and usually rising. Mountain Bluebird is lower and burrier. See Eastern Bluebird, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and thrush-like calls.
Behavior Primarily a nocturnal migrant. Seems to migrate longer into dawn than other Catharus thrushes in fall migration. Rarely seen in redetermined migration, as this behavior apparently occurs to some degree prior to sunrise and may coincide with a characteristic early-dawn period of increased nocturnal flight call activity. Flight calls have been documented regularly in nocturnal migration, though they appear to be given less frequently than by other Catharus thrushes. Perched birds may give flight calls at any time during the day but they do so particularly around dawn and dusk.
Discussion See Ball (1952).