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.
Wildlife Intrigued 
It’s got every right to look angry, being photographed after bending it’s bill!
Actually lovely looking birds and well photographed B.
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks B., but don’t feel sorry for them, they just need to stop going on benders and smashing into walls and tripping on the pavement. They can be a bit startling the first time they lay those searing eyes on you (clearly bloodshot from all that whiskey). Thanks for dropping in and hope all is well across the pond – we are trying to readjust back to the tundra and so far the body is revolting at the thought.
LikeLike
Really pretty markings on the front of that brown thrasher.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Browns and Long-Billed do have really nice sharp markings on them that really pops against those white(ish) breasts. The greys on the Curved are more subdued, which, in my opinion, make them even more distinguishable from the Browns/Long-Bills – always good to have key markings to look for in the field. Take care and thanks for dropping in.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely beautiful photos of this lovely little dinosaur! Perhaps you could take on less, then your burden would be lighter? 👍🏻 Happy weekend!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you John, pretty happy these specimens decided to hang around a bit – and out in the open – so I could get decent attempts at getting them in the tin – normally they spend our time together playing whack-a-mole in the underbrush. Like Ra and Maat, I still feel like I have to battle Apophis every night or darkness and chaos will take over my existence and reign supreme – maintains a happy Bri (and a happy wife) ha. Take care John, assuming your weather out there is looking better than ours right now – everything turned white last night – damn you Apophis!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are welcome! Your comment reminds me of an old TV show I still watch called Stargate SG-1. Apophis is one of the characters in some of the episodes. Sunnt and 85 today and to tomorrow but the 70s for next week, wonderful!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember that show! You are probably one of only a few readers that would have understood that Egyptian reference – I used to take a lot of elective courses in college on Ancient Civilizations thinking I would enjoy being an archeologist – saw their pay and stuck with my primary career ha. Of note, before these latest two boys, all our dogs were named after Egyptian Gods of the Dead – small dogs need intimidating names for the competition ring! Linda put an end to that so Raven’s full name is actually “Anubis Nevermore, Now Raven”. She did accept the weapon’s manufacturer as the basis for Ruger’s name so guessing we will still with that line of names for the next ones.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m watching Stargate just now! Anubis was eliminated in the series. Those Goa’uld are nasty creatures!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha, some director must know his Egyptian mythology!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great photos of the two species, thanks for putting them in the same post, making it very easy to compare. So… dumb question from the cheap seats here… it appears that the Brown Thrasher has a softly mottled milk-chocolate breast while the Long-billed has very sharp and distinct dark-chocolate falling-stars on his creamy chest. Is that coloration difference not enough to ID them at a glance?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Sam, we tend to be more singular in our posts, but thought this would be helpful to compare and contrast. When it comes to these two Thrashers, light will play a major part of how they appear and since they tend to stay in the darker underbrush, the subtleties in the coloring can get a bit fuzzy – like the fact that the Browns are actually much more rufous than the L-Bs. You are on to what is a very good clue I didn’t mention in the article and that is the shape of the spotting in their breast. The L-Bs had as you perfectly described chocolate falling stars (rounded), where the Browns actualy have upside down V’s as it transitions from the neck down to the breast. Yes, they are more milky chocolate, but that will get muted in the darker underbrush. Good catch Sam, thanks for the assist!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amazing eyes on this guy. And at a distance it would blend in nicely with the background.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely Jerry, if they close their eyes you are not going to pick them out of the dark underbrush beyond their noisy scratching at the leaves (my tell they are about). Very appreciative these specimens decided to come out and take a bath.. I suspect their fellow Thrasher friends are thankful they de-stunk as well hehehehe. Thanks for dropping in, appreciate it!
LikeLike
I can hardly keep up with my blog these days, let alone life, the universe, and everything else.
It’s like, “Thrish, thrash, he was thinking about taking a bath, along about a Saturday night! He was thrishing and a thrashing! A thrashing and a splashing…” I think I’m totally thrashed now.
Beautiful photos of the sassy bird. At least the Thrashers around here are all sassy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve always admired your ability to basically blog on a daily basis – we shoot for a far less 6 posts a month and that still takes a lot of effort on our part just to write those up, much less get out in the field and get the shots to feature. Very thankful that Brad and Jan joined the team to help take some of the burden off me – having their stories in the hopper takes a lot of stress off me, especially towards the end of the month when everything starts jamming up. The entire Thrasher family are sassy little creatures and the fact they basically mock all the other bird calls make them that much more ornery. Now I have that song in my head and can’t get it out arrrrghhh ha. Take care!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t write much anymore. People seem to be more interested in looking at the photos than reading what I have to say.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am sure that is probably the same case here, but I like to type so I’ll continue to make my readers suffer through it hehehe!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yup, falling behind life’s commitments (even those self-imposed ones) is totally frustrating. I gave up trying to catch up and just try to take one step forward at a time.
Terrific post on the Thrashers! In our area, we only have the Brown Thrasher to contend with, but I sure love seeing them. It’s a challenge to separate their song from their cousin, the Northern Mockingbird, but once you get it, it makes finding them easier.
Good luck with the ankle, haunted stuff, life, et al.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t given up completely yet, but as each day grows the weight gets a little heavier. Worst of all my backlog queue officially went back to 2 years as of March 1 after getting it back down to one year during my ankle recovery. Getting through those trips since then is going to be daunting. Luckily we only have to really content with the Brown Thrasher back here at home as the Northern Mocks usually don’t make it up all the way up here – cuts down on the call confusion until we head back down south and things get a bit tricky with all the Thrashers we encounter down there. Thanks for the well wishes – see the surgeon in a few weeks and we will see what the status – there needs to be a lot more improvement from my perspective, but maybe this is the new norm for a while. Thanks for dropping in Wally, hope all is well with the recovery for the two of you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You can never go too far West!! I enjoyed your thrasher pics, Bri. Hope you get caught up on things soon! And get that ankle healed! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed the post Lisa! I am working hard on a plan to increase the day to 26 hours in a desperate effort to find a way to get caught up ha. Take care and yourself a great rest of the week.
LikeLiked by 1 person