Welcome to the Navigators Species of the Month! The December Species is the Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curvirostre.In doing this monthly series it is my hope to introduce folks to both new species you have never heard of as well as common species you might want to learn more about. This month’s species is abundant in the Sonoran Desert! You can be sure to find this bird almost anywhere there is a native tree nearby.
My photograph was taken in the middle of downtown Phoenix at Margret T. Hance Park. This Thrasher was perched in the branches of a young Ironwood tree.
While there are multiple thrasher species you can find in Maricopa county the Curve-billed species is the most abundant. You can look for these birds foraging fruit and seeds or hopping about in our native cacti and shrubs. Their plumage is a unique grayish brown with a somewhat lighter speckled chest. But of course, the main dominant feature of this species is their long protruding curved bill.
To familiarize yourself with their call, listen while you are out in nature observing other birds and look for their curved bill. You can always download the Merlin app to assist with this process. The more you get to know the Curve-billed Thrasher you can begin to look for other species at different elevations and new habitats.
The following thrasher species have been observed in Maricopa County recently:
Brown Thrasher
Bendire’s Thrasher
LeConte’s Thrasher
Crissal Thrasher
Sage Thrasher
The main range of this Thrasher in the United States is:
-Arizona
-New Mexico
-West Texas
-Southeastern Colorado
-Southwestern Kansas
The Curve-billed Thrasher is also native to parts of northern and central Mexico. For a more detailed description of this species and to hear its call, please see the links below.
All About Birds.org:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Curve-billed_Thrasher/maps-range
From the David Sibley Online Guides to Birds:https://www.sibleyguides.com/bird-info/curve-billed-thrasher/