Mystery Desert bird #2 - Eastern Sierras, CA (1 Viewer)

These shots absolutely suck. This bird was very hard to sneak up on and always stayed in the shade.

I'm hoping some one can make an id based on the silouette.

I'm thinking this is a thrasher. Based on the straight bill I'm leaning towards Bendire's but the habitat was more suitable to Curve-billed.

This bird was seen in the Jawbone Canyon/Robbers Roost area.

It always flew off but stayed low to the ground then it would run under a sage brush.

I have very little to say about California birds, and don't know where the eastern Sierras are, but since nobody else has even had a vague attempt at this.......

It looks like it could be a thrasher of some sort - size, habitat, posture and that curvy bill are suggestive, but it doesn't have one of those especially long-and- curved bills, so the main options would seem to be Bendire's or Curve-billed, which is exactly the same conclusion you have reached yourself. I don't know how each would compare, range-wise.

The only additional element might be the suggestion of a supercilium in one photo, which would support C-billed, but that might just be a piece of foliage.

This was in Central / Eastern California, just a bit west of Death Valley. We were in Kern County near Jawbone Canyon on a back desert road heading towards a landmark called Robbers Roost. I guess it could be called the high desert area.

I can't really make out detail, but is there a reason it wouldn't be a Sage Thrasher? Bendire's is very localized in California and I think Curve-billed is pretty much non-existant in the state.

emupilot said:

I can't really make out detail, but is there a reason it wouldn't be a Sage Thrasher? Bendire's is very localized in California and I think Curve-billed is pretty much non-existant in the state.

Click to expand...

I haven't seen western thrashers for 2 1/2 years, and it's so shadowed I figured I'd let locals take this one - but my thoughts were similar on Sage.

Honestly, that bill is so uncurved that glancing at just the thumbnails my first thought was "grackle."

My first thought was thrasher as well, and Sage is the only one that fits the bill shape.