[3][4][5] Nightingale-thrushes are small omnivorous songbirds that, like their sister species the wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), exhibit a variety of migratory and non-migratory habits.

[13] However, molecular studies indicate that hermit thrush (C. guttatus) is more closely related to three Neotropical species (C. occidentalis, C. gracilirostris, C. frantzii) than to the long-distance migrants which it superficially resembles.

[12][16][17] The name Catharus, authored by Charles Lucien Bonaparte, is derived from the Ancient Greek καθαρός (katharós) meaning "pure" or "clean", and refers to the plumage of the orange-billed nightingale-thrush (C.

The serene, ethereal beauty of the Hermit's song, rising and falling through the still evening under the archways of hoary mountain forests that have endured from time everlasting".

[22] Hylocichla mustelina C. ustulatus C. swainsoni C. minimus C. bicknelli C. fuscescens C. guttatus C. occidentalis C. gracilirostris C. frantzii C. fuscater C. dryas C. maculatus C. aurantiirostris C. mexicanus