Swainson's Thrush

Great work, Jellis!!

Agree - buffy superlora supports Swainson's.

Swainson's Thrush resembles the Hermit in being plain brown above and spotted below, but careful study reveals many differences. The sides of a Swainson's Thrush's head are a rich tawny color, those of a Hermit dull gray-brown. The Swainson's eye ring is likewise tawny, a Hermit's whitish. The tawny color extends across the breast and is much deeper than in even subspecies vaccinius of the Hermit. The breast spots are smaller and triangular, not drop-shaped as in the Hermit (the Hermit's scientific name, guttatus, means "having drops" in Latin). Swainson's flanks are brown, not gray as in all the western subspecies of the Hermit (the brown-flanked eastern subspecies of the Hermit has never been proven to reach California). The contrast in the rump and tail, of course, is one of the best marks: in Swainson's the tail is nearly the same russet brown as the back, whereas in the Hermit there is always strong contrast between the rufous tail and brown or grayish back (more in the gray-backed subspecies like slevini and sequoiensis). http://www.sdnhm.org/archive/research/birdatlas/focus/thrush.html

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/hermit_thrush/id scroll down to see comparison between the two.

I am interested in seeing the Id too. These are lovely birds. Any chance you heard the call? Hermit Thrushes are extremely melodious.