We just caught our first hermit thrush of the season! While they are quite common during the winter, they don't breed here at palo. We do hear them over the hill occasionally, but never catch adults until the breeding season is over. This juvenile was a surprise at the net, as it was noticeably smaller than our usual thrush and after taking a look at the wing, we realized why. Compared to the swainson's thrush, which weighed ~29 grams, this guy was ~20 grams.
On the bird on the left, the fourth flight feather from the end of the wing is longer than the outer most feather, as well as emarginated, making it a hermit thrush. On the bird on the right, the fourth feather from the end of the wing is shorter than the outer most feather, and is not emarginated, making it a swainson's thrush.
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