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Brown Thrasher

Toxostoma rufumOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Mockingbirds and Thrashers (Mimidae)
Codes: Common Name: BRTH Scientific Name: TOXRUF ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178627
Least Concern
 
Brown Thrasher
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Overview

Brown Thrasher: Medium thrasher, rufous upperparts, black-streaked, pale brown underparts. Eyes are yellow. Brown-black bill curves down, lower mandible has pale base. Wings have two white and black bars. Tail is long and red-brown. Legs and feet are brown. Fast flight on shallow, rapid wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Brown Thrasher: Breeds from southeastern Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and northern New England south to the Gulf coast and Florida. Spends winters in southern part of breeding range.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body


Listen to Call

Similar Sounding

Voice Text

"smack", "churr"

Interesting Facts

 Brown Thrashers have the largest repertoire of songs of all the North American birds and are able to vocalize 3000 distinct songs.

 They are an aggressive defender of their nest, and have been known to strike people and dogs hard enough to draw blood.

 Populations are declining slowly throughout their range, perhaps because of the maturation of shrublands in the East and the elimination of fencerows and shelter belts in the Great Plains.

 They are the official state bird of Georgia, and the inspiration for the name of Atlanta's National Hockey League team, the Atlanta Thrashers.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Samira Belous

Splitbar
Range Map for Brown Thrasher

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Family Mockingbirds and Thrashers (Mimidae)_blue
Species Toxostoma rufum
Length11.5 Inches
Wingspan13.25 Inches

Brown Thrasher

Brown Thrasher: Medium thrasher, rufous upperparts, black-streaked, pale brown underparts. Eyes are yellow. Brown-black bill curves down, lower mandible has pale base. Wings have two white and black bars. Tail is long and red-brown. Legs and feet are brown. Fast flight on shallow, rapid wing beats.

● Song: "smack", "churr"

● Foraging & Feeding: Brown Thrasher: Feeds on insects, small amphibians, fruits, and some grain. Runs quickly on the ground when foraging, turning leaves over with bill to find food.

● Breeding & nesting: Brown Thrasher: Two to six white to pale blue eggs, with light brown specks, are laid in a large nest built from sticks, grass, leaves, and rootlets, lined with grass, and built near the ground in a dense, often thorny bush. Incubation ranges from 11 to 14 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Brown Thrasher: Long-billed Thrasher has more gray-brown upperparts, darker streaks on dull white underparts, longer, more decurved bill, orange-red eyes, and long gray-brown tail.

Flight Pattern

Rather fast flight n shallow wing beats. Short flights are made with several rapid wing beats alternated with brief periods with wings pulled to sides;repeated.
Brown Thrasher Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Brown Thrasher: Breeds from southeastern Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and northern New England south to the Gulf coast and Florida. Spends winters in southern part of breeding range.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
Population
MigrationMigratory
Weight2.4 Ounces
Perching-like BodyX
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
Lower mandibleX
The lower part of the bill.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX