How to Identify aCalifornia Thrasher
Toxostoma redivivum · 11.4–13 in (29–33 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Sooty gray-brown overall with a warm cinnamon belly, a pale eyebrow and dark eye, and a very long sickle-shaped bill. Sexes look alike.
Female
Identical to the male in the field.
Male photo: Mike Baird from Morro Bay, USA / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0 · Second photo: Basar / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Field marks
- Very long, strongly downcurved black bill
- Plain unstreaked brown underparts
- Pale eyebrow above a dark eye
- Long tail, often held slightly cocked
Similar species
What it sounds like
A long, rambling series of gurgling and grating phrases, mixed with imitations of other birds.
Behaviour that gives it away
Digs into leaf litter with sideways sweeps of its curved bill, hammering and levering to expose insects beneath.
Habitat & range
Chaparral, coastal scrub and suburban gardens throughout California.
When you'll see it
Present all year in western North America.
What it eats
Insects dug from leaf litter, plus berries and seeds.
Did you know?
It is almost entirely restricted to California, one of the few North American birds essentially confined to a single state.
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