I love this bird. When I come across a hermit thrush, it is because I’m moving very slowly and tuning into my surroundings. This bird blends in well on the forest floor, and it moves around quietly as it forages. In my experience, if I am quiet and still, it will usually tolerate my presence, and it will often forage quite close by where I can observe it.
While taking these photos, I noticed it would subtly shake its leg when it paused during foraging on the forest floor. The All About Birds website by The Cornell Lab states: ”They sometimes pick up leaf litter with their bills or shake grass with their feet to find insects.”
I also realized that the spots on its breast are blurry or smudged. You can see in the photo below that it has a rufous tail. As it perched on the limb, it had the behavior of cocking its tail and slowly lowering it. It would also lightly flick its wings.
Whenever I see this bird, I have a feeling of serenity and gentleness.
This bird has a beautiful, sylvan song. Click below to have a listen:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hermit_Thrush/sounds