Brown Thrasher – Tendrils

Here For The BirdBath Or Berries

A bird with lovely, lengthy songs. A mimic like Catbirds and Mockingbirds. A Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum), a bird that comes ’round for the birdbath and the berries.

I miss the Mockingbirds up here. I’ve never seen a single one at this elevation. They seem to prefer the lowlands. And I do miss the Catbirds too, though I’ve seen one a time or two up here. Certainly though it is an extremely rare event. If I didn’t have photos of it I would think my memory was playing tricks on me. I do indeed love their songs.

But I’m very pleased to have Brown Thrashers come into the yard. I put out the birdbath even in winter to attract birds that would otherwise not drop in. That would be the case with this bird as well except . . . . . .

except for the blueberries. Like many other birds, Brown Thrashers love blueberries, surely as much as I do!

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Being Bold

I’m thoroughly enjoying this elusive bird showing off its bold side. Circumstances must be just right for this Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) to step out and be seen. This picture is from today. Usually they are hidden under dense bushes. Hiding from my camera. Not so the past couple days with tempting blueberries on the bushes. Be bold! There are yummy berries to be had!

And oh, those piercing yellow eyes. The Brown Thrasher youngsters though have pearl gray eyes which gradually become that intense yellow, as they age. This picture is from 2017, when I was fortunate to capture a youngster in pixels.

And I’ve been wondering, am I seeing male or female Brown Thrashers? No telling. Their coloring, patterns, and plumage is all the same, whether male or female.

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A Mimic

The Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) is a bird that resides up here during the summer, but one that I seldom see. It enjoys eating insects that it finds in leaf litter under dense, low growing shrubs. It will also eat fruits and seeds.

Due the presence of Black Bears (Ursus americanus), I normally don’t have bird feeders out while the thrashers are around, while the bears are active. I do have lots of blueberry bushes though, which brings the thrashers into areas where I know I can find interesting birds.

Brown Thrashers are in the family, Mimidae, which is a group of birds that are recognized for their vocalizations, and their capacity to imitate many birds and other noises that they hear as they go about their lives. The Brown Thrasher is indeed an excellent songster and can repeat as many as 2,000 different songs. As it sings, it repeats each song twice, a tip for me, to its identity.

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What’s Up There?

I had another visit today, from a wonderful bird, a Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum). They don’t get seen often, but my blueberries are ripe now and they love them. Blueberries are a sure draw for many birds.

Over the course of just a couple minutes I was able to get more than 40 images of this creature. It had the look of worry, repeatedly looking to the sky. I wondered if it knew the sky was falling. But it must have been a false alarm. No falling sky.

A large bird, ranging from 9 to 12 inches in length. Long tail, long legs, long slightly turned down bill. This, is a young one, having ashen colored eyes. More mature Brown Thrashers have stern looking yellow or yellow-orange eyes. Though the male and female look similar in appearance, the male is the songster. Repeating melodic phrases two times, copying the songs of other birds with rich notes in a varied repertoire. So pleased when I get to see one, or hear one!

Oh Those Yellow Eyes

One more post on the Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) and, about those incredible piercing bright yellow eyes. As a hatchling the Brown Thrasher has blue eyes, as the bird grows the eyes change to ashen and then on to the yellow that you see in my photos of adult Brown Thrashers.