STATE BIRD

                                Hermit Thrush


       No. 1 of the Acts of 1941 established the Hermit Thrush as the
  official State Bird, effective June 1, 1941.  Attaining this status was
  not, however, an easy flight for Catharus guttatus.  Among other
  things, it was not considered a true Vermonter because, unlike the blue jay
  or crow (which were favored by some legislators), the Hermit Thrush leaves
  Vermont during the winter in its southward migration.  The record is not
  clear, but this bird was selected to represent Vermont, among other things,
  because it has a distinctive sweet call, and because it is found in all of
  Vermont's 14 counties.  The bird's usual habitat is the ground and low
  branches of shrubs and trees in woodland areas.


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       from Office of the Secretary of State, Vermont Legislative Directory
  and State Manual, Biennial Session, 1993-1994, p. 12.

  Image produced from a photograph by Wilson Bloomer for the Cornell
  Laboratory of Ornithology.