Brown Thrasher

Toxostoma rufum

The Brown Thrasher has one of the largest song repertoires of any North American bird, capable of singing over 1,100 different song types.

Scientific name

Toxostoma rufum

Taxonomy

Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Mimidae › Toxostoma

IUCN Red List status

Least Concern

Population trend

decreasing

Biome

forest

Habitat

Dense thickets, forest edges, and shrubby areas near clearings.

Diet

Omnivorous; primarily eats insects, beetles, and berries, but occasionally small lizards or frogs.

Range

United States, Southern Canada, Northern Mexico

Size

Length: 23-30 cm; Weight: 60-90 g

Lifespan

10-12 years

Active

diurnal

Threats

Habitat fragmentation, collisions with man-made structures, and predation by domestic cats.

Safe to approach?

Harmless and generally shy. Observe from a distance of at least 10 feet to avoid causing stress. If the bird is nesting, do not approach as they can be territorial. They pose no physical threat to humans.

The brown thrasher ( Toxostoma rufum ), sometimes erroneously called the brown thrush or fox-coloured thrush , is a bird in the family Mimidae, which also includes the New World catbirds and mockingbirds. The brown thrasher is abundant throughout the eastern and central United States and southern and central Canada, and it is the only thrasher to live primarily east of the Rockies and central Texas. It is the state bird of Georgia.

Photo: Chrissy McClarren and Andy Reago, CC0, via iNaturalist

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