Hermit Thrush

 

As I stood outside one recent morning, sipping coffee and waiting to wake up, I noticed this bird near me. It stayed very still for a long time. Long enough for me to get my camera and stage a photo shoot. Was it tired from migrating? Click to enlarge.

It's a hermit thrush! Note the spotted breast and throat and the contrasting reddish tail. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology you are more likely to see a hermit thrush in the woods than in a suburban backyard. Except during migration, when one might stop by to forage.

Right again, ornithologists.