Episode 76: Hermit Thrush – Voice of the Wild

This is Brodie with Illinois Extension and I’m here with a new “voice of the wild”

This thrush is most often found in the midwest during migration when they can be separated from similar thrushes by their song and reddish tail. In Autumn, most will head to mexico and the southern US, but a few will linger through the midwest winter, usually in quiet woodlands where they might give a plucky call from low in the snowy winter understory. This is hermit thrush.

The ethereal song of the hermit thrush is best identified by its whistled introduction. But Note too their different calls, a plucking, a wheeze, and a high waxwing-like alarm. Altogether now, Here’s the hermit thrush again.

Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for today’s sound. Learn more about voice of the wild at go.illinois.edu/VOW