- Toxostoma crissale
Identification
11.5 ins (29 cm)
- Dark grey brown above
- Grey below
- White throat
- Dark moustachial stripe
- Red undertail
- Rust coloured belly and undertail coverts
- Long dark tail
- Yellow iris
- Long, down-curved bill
- Dark legs
- Sexes similar
Distribution
Southern California, southern Nevada, most of Arizona, most of New Mexico, western Texas and northern Mexico.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
This is a polytypic species consisting of four subspecies[1]:
- T. c. coloradense:
- Arid southern California and Arizona to north-eastern Baja and north-western Sonora
- T. c. crissale:
- T. c. trinitatis:
- Northern Baja California (Valle de La Trinidad)
- T. c. dumosum:
- Northern Mexico (Zacatecas, southern Coahuila, San Luis Potos¡ and Hidalgo)
An additional subspecies dorsale is generally considered invalid[2].
Habitat
Riparian thickets and desert areas.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes insects, spiders, seeds, and berries.
Breeding
It builds its nest from twigs, lined with plant material, close to the branch. The 1-4 unspotted bluish-green, eggs are incubated by both parents for 14 days.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Avibase
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- USGS
- Whatbird.com
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Crissal Thrasher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Crissal_Thrasher
