www.ComingsBirds.com/King Ranch

to the Beauty of Birds

The long-billed thrasher (Toxostoma longirostre) is a medium-sized resident songbird of South Texas and eastern Mexico. It bears a strong resemblance to its close relative the brown thrasher in appearance, calls, and various other behaviors; however, the two species do not overlap in range except in the winter when the brown thrasher will temporarily reside in the northern range of the long-billed.

The bird is a large sized mimid that is not especially wary, but it will take precautionary measures to prevent itself from being potential prey. Like other thrashers, it is named after its sweeping methods when searching for food, not for thrashing predators, although they are aggressive defenders of their territories.

The specific name longirostre is derived from the Latin words longus long and rostrum bill.

Along with the brown thrasher and Cozumel thrasher, the three are part of a superspecies rufum clade. Plumage patterns and bill shapes were originally used for grouping and the birds also were shown as closely related with genetic studies.

This thrasher shares a striking resemblance with the brown thrasher. However, there are a number of differences. Its face is more gray in contrast to the reddish appearance of the thrasher. The underparts are whiter, less buffy, and more robustly colored, an eye that appears more orange and beady, and generally a longer-bill that is blacker and stands apart from the face. The long-billed's overall appearance has more contrasts in its pattern in comparison to the thrasher.

The sage thrasher, which shares some its distribution with the long-billed, is smaller, grayer, and its rectrices are of a more distinguished white color.

Toxostoma longirostre at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Texas
Long-billed thrashers usually stay hidden on or near the ground, though it may sing from conspicuous perches. Whenever it searches for insects on the ground, it will energetically turn over ("thrashing") leaves and other litter. It also can be spotted singing on exposed perches above its thornbush fortresses. Males generally are spotted singing from March until the mid-summer, excluding instances of singing song snatches periodically to balance the year. It is generally not wary, possibly because is not easily approached. The flights of the long-billed are generally close to the ground, short, erratic with exaggerated fluctuations. Long-billed thrashers are staunch defenders of their territories; it will defend its nest ferociously, including against humans.

The song is warbling and resembles other thrashers' songs but is especially rich and musical, though occasionally scratchy. Phrases are often repeated two to four times. A distinctive call is a "loud, rich whistle cleeooeep" or "mellow, whistled tweeooip or ooeh"; other calls include "a loud sharp chak" and "a very rapid, sharp rattle chtttr", and tsuck and verrs sounds during territorial disputes that resemble calls of its close relative the brown thrasher.

Long-billed Thrasher

Long-billed Thrasher-191

Long-billed Thrasher-255

Long-billed Thrasher-195.jpg

Long-billed Thrasher-206

Long-billed Thrasher-258

Long-billed Thrasher range