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Brown Thrasher
Toxostoma rufum
At-a-Glance
• Incubation: 11-14 days
• Clutch Size: 4-5 eggs
• Young Fledge: 9-13 days after hatching
• Typical Foods: mostly fruit, occasionally insects, seeds, reptiles, and amphibians |
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Description
The largest of the mimics, the brown thrasher is a rich reddish-brown above and white below. The breast is heavily steaked with dark stripes and there are two white wing bars. The eyes are yellow. The long, rounded tail is particularly noticeable.
Habitat and Habits
The thrasher, a fairly common summer resident, inhabits dry, overgrown pastures, fields and thickets, and open woodlots. It spends a lot of time on the ground scratching in leaves as it searches for insects. It sings from a high, conspicuous perch. The song is typical of all mimics, but everything is repeated once. These repetitions, or couplets, make the brown thrasher easy to identify.
Reproduction and Care of the Young
Four or five pale blue eggs, spotted with brown, are laid in a large, coarse nest. The nest is usually near the ground in a thorny shrub. |
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