How to Identify aBrown Thrasher
Toxostoma rufum · 9.1–11.8 in (23–30 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Bright reddish-brown above, whitish below with bold dark streaks; long tail, curved bill, yellow eye.
Female
Identical to the male in the field.
Male photo: Rhododendrites / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Second photo: Peterwchen / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Field marks
- Rich rufous-brown upperparts
- Heavy teardrop streaks on a pale breast
- Long tail and slightly downcurved bill
- Bright yellow eye
Similar species
What it sounds like
A long series of musical phrases, most of them repeated exactly twice before the next.
Behaviour that gives it away
Sweeps its long bill sideways through leaf litter rather than scratching, digging out insects from beneath.
Habitat & range
Dense thickets, hedgerows, and shrubby edges across the eastern and central U.S.
When you'll see it
Depending on where in eastern and central North America you are, it is present all year and a summer visitor that arrives to breed.
What it eats
Insects raked from leaf litter, plus fruit and nuts.
Did you know?
Brown Thrashers may have the largest song repertoire of any North American bird — over 1,000 song types.
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