Bendire's Thrasher

Overview

Bendire's thrasher (Toxostoma bendirei) is a medium-sized thrasher native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, the species faces range-wide declines primarily due to the conversion of habitat to farmland.

Identification

• 23–28 cm in length with a long tail and medium-sized bill
• Grayish-brown upperparts and pale, faintly dark-streaked underparts
• Bright yellow eyes and a pale-based lower mandible
• White-tipped tail feathers
• Most common call is a sharp "chek"

Habitat

Found in brush-filled deserts, valleys, and drylands of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, particularly along the Arizona and New Mexico borders and in the Madrean sky islands. Subspecies are distributed across regions including Colorado, Nevada, Utah, California, and various areas of Sonora and Baja California in Mexico.

Diet

Feeds on small ground-dwelling insects and berries.

Did you know?

The species was described in 1872 after Lieutenant Charles Bendire shot a bird he believed to be a new species, which ornithologist Elliott Coues later distinguished from a female curve-billed thrasher.