Brown Thrasher
| Brown Thrasher | |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Mimidae |
| Genus: | Toxostoma |
| Species: | T. rufum |
| Binomial name | |
| Toxostoma rufum (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Yellow = summer-only range, Blue = winter-only range, Green = year-round range | |
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This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Discussion about the problems with the sole source used may be found on the talk page. (September 2008) |
The Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum), sometimes erroneously called the Brown Thrush,[2] is a bird in the Mimidae family, a group that also includes the New World catbirds and mockingbirds.
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[edit] Description
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The Brown Thrasher 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. Adults average about 11.5 in (29 cm) long with a wingspan of 13 in (33 cm), and have an average mass of 2.4 oz (68 g).[3]
[edit] Habitat and range
It is found in thickets and dense brush, often searching for food in dry leaves on the ground. It also enjoys the convergence of mowed to unmowed lawns, particularly if there are ample shrubs or shrubby trees, i.e., fruit orchards that the undergrowth is left undisturbed. It also enjoys perennial gardens and can be seen jumping from the ground to catch insects on flowers and foliage. 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. There is a single British record of this unlikely transatlantic vagrant.
[edit] Behavior
[edit] Feeding
This bird is omnivorous, eating insects, berries, nuts and seeds, as well as earthworms, snails, and sometimes lizards.
[edit] Breeding
The female lays 3 to 5 eggs in a twiggy nest lined with grass. The nest is built in a dense shrub or low in a tree. Both parents incubate and feed the young. These birds raise two or three broods in a year. They are able to call in up to 3000 distinct songs. The male sings a series of short repeated melodious phrases from an open perch to defend his territory and is also very aggressive in defending the nest.
[edit] Vocal Development
Brown Thrashers are known to have as many as over 3000 unique songs in their vocal repertoire. [4] [5] [6]
[edit] Conservation and threats
Although this bird is widespread and still common, it has declined in numbers in some areas due to loss of suitable habitat.
[edit] In culture
The Brown Thrasher is the official state bird of Georgia, and was the inspiration for the name of Atlanta's former National Hockey League team, the Atlanta Thrashers.
[edit] Gallery
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Brown Thrasher
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[edit] References
- ^ BirdLife International (2004). Toxostoma rufum. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- ^ "Columbia Encyclopedia (sixth edition, 2008): Mimic Thrush". http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-mimicthr.html.
- ^ Sibley, David. The Sibley Guide to Birds. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 412. ISBN 0-679-45122-6.
- ^ http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/studying/birdsongs/vocaldev
- ^ http://www.tropicalbirds.com/thrasher.php
- ^ http://www.outdooralabama.com/watchable-wildlife/what/Birds/tmt/bt.cfm
[edit] External links
- Brown Thrasher (BirdHouses101.com)
- Photo and links to additional pages
- University of Georgia page
- Reproduction of Audubon's description
- Brown Thrasher videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
- Stamps
- Brown Thrasher Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Brown Thrasher Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Brown Thrasher Bird Sound
- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Mimidae
- Thrashers
- Toxostoma
- United States state birds
- Birds of Canada
- Native birds of the Canadian Prairies
- Native birds of the Eastern United States
- Native birds of the Plains-Midwest (United States)
- Birds of the United States
- Birds of the Bahamas
- Birds of Cuba
- Birds of the Turks and Caicos Islands
- Birds of Aruba
- Birds of the Netherlands Antilles
- Birds of Bermuda
- Eastern North American migratory birds
- Symbols of Georgia (U.S. state)
