Toxostoma bendirei
The Bendire's Thrasher (Toxostoma bendirei) is a subtly elegant passerine, a member of the Mimidae family, which includes other thrashers and mockingbirds. Averaging 23-28 cm (9-11 in) in length with a wingspan of 33-35 cm (13-14 in) and weighing 55-75 g (1.9-2.6 oz), this medium-sized thrasher is distinguished by its sandy grayish-brown upperparts and pale, subtly streaked underparts. Its most distinctive field mark is its bright yellow eye, contrasting with a relatively short, moderately de...
Found in arid desert scrublands, mesquite bosques, and grasslands, often with scattered cacti, yucca, or thorny shrubs. Typically occurs at low to moderate elevations.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding on beetles, grasshoppers, ants, and caterpillars, supplemented with spiders and occasionally small lizards. They also consume seeds and berries, especially during the winter months.
Bendire's Thrashers are diurnal, most active during the cooler parts of the day, foraging on the ground and roosting in dense vegetation. They employ a 'dig-and-sweep' foraging technique, using their specialized bill to probe and sweep under leaf litter and in soft soil for invertebrates. Highly ...
The Bendire's Thrasher primarily breeds across the arid southwestern United States, including southeastern California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, Arizona, and western New Mexico. Its breeding range extends southward into northwestern Mexico, encompassing Sonora and northern Baja Californ...
Near Threatened
- The Bendire's Thrasher was named in honor of Captain Charles Bendire (1836-1897), an American ornithologist and oologist renowned for his contributions to North American bird knowledge and egg collections. - Its bill is an evolutionary 'middle ground,' being noticeably shorter and less curved t...