- Toxostoma bendirei
Identification
9-10 ins (23-25cm)
- Grey-brown
- Indistinct dark spots on breast
- Long dark tail with pale tip
- Short, slightly decurved bill with indistinct yellow base
- Yellow eye
- Dark legs
Sexes similar
Distribution
Southeastern California, southern Nevada, throughout Arizona, western New Mexico and northwest Mexico.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
This is a polytipic species consisting of three subspecies[1]:
- T. b. bendirei:
- T. b. candidum:
- Sonoran Desert of western Mexico (western Sonora)
- T. b. rubricatum:
- Central and southern interior of south-eastern Sonora and coast near Isla Tiburón
Habitat
Areas of arid scrub thickets.
Behaviour
Breeding
It builds a cup-shaped nest from twigs, lined with grass stems and rootlets, placed in a cactus or an otherwise thorny desert shrub or tree. The 3-4 eggs are pale green to blue, speckled with brown and purple.
Diet
The diet includes small ground-dwelling insects.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- USGS
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Bendire's Thrasher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Bendire%27s_Thrasher
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
