Bendire's Thrasher
Bendire's Thrasher: Medium thrasher with olive-brown upperparts, spotted buff underparts. Bill is short, gray and slightly decurved with pale pink lower mandible base. Eyes are yellow-orange. Tail is long, olive-brown above, black with white tips below, and has brown undertail coverts.
● Song:
"chek" ,"chek-chek"
● Foraging & Feeding:
Bendire's Thrasher: Eats primarily insects but also takes some fruits; forages on the ground.
● Breeding & nesting:
Bendire's Thrasher: Three to five brown-marked, green to gray green eggs are laid in a cup nest made of sticks and lined with leaves, grass, pieces of fabric, rootlets, and other fine materials. Nest is built 3 to 5 feet above the ground in a shrub, small tree, or cactus. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by both parents.
● Similar species:
Bendire's Thrasher: Curve-billed Thrasher is larger and bulkier, with larger bill, brighter orange eyes, and different call.
● Range & Habitat:
Bendire's Thrasher: Breeds in southeastern California, southern Nevada, southern Utah, southern Colorado, and western and central New Mexico south to central Sonora. Spends winters in northwestern Mexico. Preferred habitats include semi-desert and desert areas, with large shrubs or cacti and open ground, and open woodlands with scattered shrubs and trees.