Species

Brown thrasher

Toxostoma rufum

Georgia's state bird, a rusty, long-tailed songbird that sings over a thousand different song types.

Photo Unknown photographer (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC0 1.0 (opens in a new tab)

Communication

At a glance

Size: About 23 to 30 cm long
Weight: About 60 to 90 g
Habitat: Thickets, hedgerows, woodland edges and yards
Diet: Insects, earthworms, berries and acorns
In Georgia: Common resident statewide
Voice: Long songs with each phrase usually sung twice
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Rusty brown above; heavily streaked below; long tail; long, curved bill; yellow eye
Told apart from: Wood thrush, which is smaller with spots and a short tail
Where to look: Thickets and yards, often on the ground tossing leaves

Behaviour

Brown thrashers feed on the ground, sweeping leaves aside with their bills. Males have been recorded singing over 1,000 different song types, often repeating each phrase twice.

Why they matter

The brown thrasher has been Georgia's state bird since 1935. It eats many insects and spreads seeds of native shrubs, and it defends its nest fiercely, even striking people.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A bulky cup of twigs in a dense shrub
Eggs — Usually four or five
Incubation — About 11 to 14 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about 9 to 13 days
Lifespan — Several years

Living around people

Dense shrubs and brush give them nest sites.
Cats kill many ground-feeding thrashers.

Misconceptions

The state bird is the robin. Georgia's state bird is the brown thrasher.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Present	Singing begins	Nesting	Nesting	Chicks	Second broods	Young fledging	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present

Where it lives

Recorded in 48 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

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