Thrashing and Splashing

Been quite the busy bee (err Bri) since returning home from Texas. Having to deal with the ankle injury, all the work related with the Haunted Trail and well, life in general, I fell behind on my tasks (starting last year). I don’t know about you, but that nags at me to no end and if I get too far behind it basically feels like I’m “thrashing” around in a sea of commitments. One of those failed endeavors was documenting all my bird sightings. I don’t mention it much, but I try to document all the sightings made during the annual Average Year efforts (link here). I only made it a few months into last year so I was way behind starting this year – now resolved. All of 2025 is done (link here) and 2026 (link here) is now current (with exception of the graphs which I only update monthly). Happy to say I am bettering my pace from last year’s record setting tally (400+3 provisional) with a current count of 254+3. In my best Chico Escuela voice, Texas was berry, berry good to me.

Keeping with the “thrashing” theme, thought I would feature a bird that knows a lot about that!

Hit the jump to learn more about this angry looking bird… and if you behave, we just might give you a bonus species!

Even if you are not overly familiar with this particular bird, you could probably guess from the intro – this is indeed a member of the Thrasher or Mimidae family. To be specific, it is the Curve-Billed variety or Toxostoma curvirostre if you like to impress your friends with your knowledge of Latin. If you don’t think anyone is able to call you on it, tease them instead with Probiscisis Curvaceouso Tharaxo.

Our bright eyed friend was spotted taking advantage of the watering feature at the Laguna Vista Nature Trail back in January of 2025. Note, I can confirm that this species still hangs out there from our recent visit there last month. If you are ever in the South Padre Island area of Texas, I highly recommend checking out this urban trail that sits about 10 minutes north of the island.

Laguna Nature Trail is a go-to place for many of the Texas staple birds and if you play your cards right, you might find yourself some sought after specialties like the Buff-Bellied Hummingbird (link here), Rufous Hummingbird (link here), Hooded Oriole (link here), Tropical Parula and that @#$^T@#$@%@#%^ Groove-Billed Ana that sits atop my nemesis bird list. Clean, nice rocked trail, multiple blinds and neighborhood volunteers that put out oranges and keep the feeders full – just a great place to spend a few hours birding.

One of those Texas “staples” you will find there is this Curve-Billed Thrasher – commonly found at the third bird feeder (first one on the left path from the parking lot. They are pretty easy to spot due to their long/curved to some degree bills and piercing eyes. It might take a little bit of extra work to get its species identified. Those of us from the Midwest have it a bit easier if we remember one rule of thumb for south Texas – “If it looks like our Brown Thrasher it is a Long-Billed Thrasher, if it looks like a grey version of our Brown Thrasher it is a Curve-Billed Thrasher”. For completeness, if it is a beige version of our Brown Thrasher you’ve gone too far west!

A few tidbits if this is your first encounter with this family. Thrashers in general are most often found rooting around on the ground, pushing leaves away as they seek out juicy insects, spiders and such. I find them to be somewhat loners and tend to spook easily if they hear you coming… and those little legs can get moving in a hurry.

Okay, it appears you have been behaving, so we will go ahead and give you a bonus bird for your cooperation – not something we do very often so hopefully you will appreciate the extra effort. Unfortunately, for you Midwesterners, it is really a test of your reading comprehension. You are standing in south Texas and you spot this creature on the ground… what is it.. ready, set GO!

If you said Brown Thrasher, I will come right over there, slap you with a wet fish and make you write a bad check. Say it with me, if it looks like our Brown Thrasher, it is really a….still with me…look into my eyes…it’s a Long-Billed Thrasher. For the record, “angry stoner bird” will at least get you half credit.

So this is indeed, the Long-Billed Thrasher. Did you notice the incredible difference in bill length between the Curve-Billed?…or perhaps you noticed the equally stunning difference in how different the curves are on their bills?

I know, I know, the name features are not going to be a giant help here. In fact, I actually think the Curve-Billed has a longer bill. As a warning, if you try to go to Cornell’s website for some visual comparison work (or to study up for future quizzes), go to the Long-Billed page first as that allows you to compare to the Curve-Billed directly – go the opposite way and apparently they don’t look enough alike.

You already figured this out, but the Long-Billed and the Curve-Billed overlap in their ranges specifically in south Texas. The Long-Billed is more restrictive staying mostly in the southern tip and extending down into Central America. The Curve-Billed has a wider swath through the west side of Texas, through New Mexico and into southern Arizona (and pretty much all of Central America).

Hope you enjoyed this special look at two of the primary Thrashers in south Texas. I will confess, these happen to be some of my favorite shots of these two species – the digital darkroom floor is full of butt shots, blurred branches, tossed leaves and what can only be described as finger painting while tripping on LSD all in an effort to tin these Probiscisis Curvaceouso Thoraxoes..eh, you are too smart for that trick.

See you again soon, take care.