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Brown thrasher

Toxostoma rufum

Photo by Maria dB
Published on Project Noah
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35.9269, -79.0386

Field Notes

Description:

This bird is bright reddish-brown above with thin, dark streaks on its buffy underparts. Its long, rufous tail is rounded with paler corners, and eyes are a brilliant gold. It has one of the largest song repertoires of any North American bird and they mimic the calls of other birds. They eat insects, berries, nuts, seeds, suet, as well as earthworms, snails, and sometimes lizards. Roosting and sleeping behavior is almost unknown, but they presumably roost and sleep within dense bushes. During the day, they spend up to half their time on the ground or in low bushes or trees.

Habitat:

It is found in thickets and dense brush, lawns with shrubs or shrubby trees. Its breeding range includes the United States and Canada east of the Rocky Mountains. It is a partial migrant, with northern birds wintering in the southern USA, where it occurs throughout the year. In 1928, the school children of Georgia selected the brown thrasher as the state bird.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (8)

:-) This seems to happen with many birds visiting the feeder; my suet must be a little sticky but it doesn't seem to put them off at all.
Maria, so do we! We use the turkey fat from the birds that we butcher.
Thanks, bee! The thrashers seem to love the suet in my feeders! (I make my own)
Maria wonderful pictures! I didn't realize thrashers would come to suet feeders. Good to know. Thanks for sharing.
Nice, clear close-ups! :-)

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