Hermit Thrush - Reddish Tail and Rump in album Newark, DE

In Albums: nature Newark, DE birds

Apr 14th, 2011, by Alex Zorach

This is not the most flattering or artistic photograph of a Hermit thrush, but I have chosen this particular picture and lighting because it highlights a key field-mark in the identification of the hermit thrush, relative to other similarly-patterned brown thrushes: the hermit thrush has a fairly strong contrast between a plain brown upper back, and a reddish tail (and often rump).

Another field mark, the complete eye-ring, is somewhat visible in this picture.

When I was photographing this bird, I also observed a key behavior that helps to identify it as a hermit thrush: the frequent flipping up of its tail, followed by slowly lowering it.

This photo was taken in Phillips Park, Newark, DE.