Telling a wood thrush apart from a hermit thrush can be tricky for beginning birders. These two similar-looking thrushes overlap across much of the eastern United States and Canada during the breeding season. With some practice, though, you can learn to confidently identify them by sight and sound.
Range and Habitat
The first clue is to consider where you are located. Wood thrushes breed in deciduous and mixed forests across eastern North America. Their breeding range stretches from southern Ontario and Quebec to northern Florida, and west to eastern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and the eastern Dakotas. They migrate to spend the winter in Central America and northern South America.
Hermit thrushes have a more extensive range that covers most of North America. There are several subspecies, with some wintering primarily along the Pacific Coast and others along the Atlantic Coast and interior US. During the breeding season, hermit thrushes occupy boreal and mountain forests across Canada, the western US, and the higher elevations of the Appalachians. They are less tied to deciduous forests than wood thrushes.
So if you are in the deciduous forests of the eastern US or Canada during spring and summer, the thrush singing in the treetops is much more likely to be a wood thrush. Hermit thrushes would be very uncommon, found only in the highest peaks of the Appalachians. On the other hand, a singing thrush in the boreal forests of Canada or the mountains of the western US is almost certainly a hermit thrush.
Size and Shape
Once you’ve narrowed down the likely species based on habitat, take a closer look at size and shape. Wood thrushes are slightly larger than hermit thrushes. The wood thrush measures 8-9.5 inches long with a wingspan around 13 inches. Hermit thrushes are a bit smaller at 6.5-8 inches long with a 12 inch wingspan.
Shape can also be telling. Wood thrushes have large round heads and full bellies. Their tails are rounded. Hermit thrushes look more slender and elongated. Their heads appear smaller and flatter, their tails longer. If you can get a profile view, this difference in silhouette is very useful.
Color Pattern
Plumage color provides the most obvious difference between these species. Here is a quick rundown of the most distinctive markings:
- Wood thrushes have bold black spots across their white underparts. These spots are densest on the breast and become more scattered on the belly.
- The back and upper wings of wood thrushes are reddish-brown. The tail is the same reddish-brown.
- An obvious white ring surrounds the eye. A thin whitish eye line runs above the eye as well.
- Hermit thrushes lack obvious spotting or streaking on the underparts. The breast and belly are plain grayish-white or pale yellow.
- Their back and upper wings are olive-brown. The rump and tail are reddish-brown.
- Faint darker smudges surround the eye. A faint pale eye ring may be visible.
The spotted breast and reddish-brown back and tail are very characteristic of the wood thrush. The plain underparts and olive upperparts point to the hermit thrush. Juveniles of both species have buffier underparts with some light spotting. But the differences in head pattern and overall color tones remain.
Song
Song provides the best identification clue for these secretive forest thrushes. You’ll typically hear them singing long before you see them.
Wood thrushes have a beautiful, flute-like song made up of distinct phrases. Each phrase lasts 1-2 seconds and contains 3-6 clear, ringing notes. Here is how the song is often described:
“EE-oh-lay, EE-oh-lay, ee-oh-LEE.”
The volume rises on the final note of each phrase. Wood thrushes can repeat this song for many minutes at a time from high perches in the forest. The song carries far and has an ethereal quality.
Hermit thrushes sing a completely different tune. Their song is a series of disconnected, ascending or descending musical notes. Each note lasts just a fraction of a second. The overall effect is of a melody flowing up and down the musical scale. Listen here:
“oh…OH…vee-ur…oh…EE…oh…vee-OH.”
Hermit thrushes repeat their songs less persistently than wood thrushes. But with practice, the distinctive melody of the hermit thrush song is easy to pick out.
Behavior
Feeding behavior and movement can provide additional clues. Wood thrushes typically forage by picking insects and other prey from the ground or forest litter. You might see them flipping leaves with their bill or hovering briefly to pick something up. Hermit thrushes forage more actively, moving rapidly from branch to branch as they glean insects from foliage.
Wood thrushes tend to be slower and more deliberate in their movements overall. When approached, they are more likely to go silent and hunker down in cover. Hermit thrushes stay in motion more. They are quick to flit deeper into vegetation when alarmed.
Top Field Marks
Here are some useful field marks to tell wood thrushes and hermit thrushes apart:
Wood Thrush | Hermit Thrush |
---|---|
– Reddish-brown back and tail | – Olive-brown back, reddish-brown rump and tail |
– Heavily spotted white underparts | – Plain yellowish-white underparts |
– Large round head | – Smaller flat head |
– Flute-like “EE-oh-lay” song | – Musical warbling song |
With some practice, you can learn to recognize their distinctive features. Listening for their songs is usually the best and easiest way to tell them apart.
Conclusion
Wood thrushes and hermit thrushes can be challenging to distinguish as beginner birders. But considering their habitat preferences, size, color patterns, songs, and behavior will allow you to confidently tell them apart. The wood thrush’s heavily spotted underparts, reddish-brown back, large round head, and melodic flute-like song identify it in eastern deciduous forests. For the hermit thrush, look for its plain yellowish underparts, olive-brown back, small flat head, and musical warbling song in boreal and western mountain forests. Now that you know their differences, enjoy identifying these two beautiful forest songsters by sight and sound!