Brown Thrasher

Brown Thrasher aka. Brown Thrush aka. Fox-coloured Thrush (erroneous, archaic)
Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
April 2018
Member of the Mockingbird and Thrasher Family 
§ A Shred of Thrashers§ *
★State Bird of Georgia★ (and a good one at that, IMO. Top 10 in the definitive State Bird Power Ranking is nothing to look down on)

{Etymology Corner}  Thrasher is a weird name for a bird, huh? Sounds closer to a 90's AOL Screen-name than a medium sized mockingbird. Speculation is that it's a derivation/evolution of Thrush, a type of bird that this is not, but this does at least offer an explanation of why some people call it a Brown Thrush.

~true bird fact~ Able to vocalize somewhere between 1000 and 3000+ songs, depending on who you're asking. Some sources say this puts him at the rank of the ★bird who knows the most songs★


Sensitive to bad smells
Has an unassuming quality that makes people underestimate her 
Sometimes solves mysteries

Curve-billed Thrasher

Curve-billed Thrasher aka. Cuitiacoache (lit. Songbird) aka. The Default Desert Bird... wait, what?
Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA
July 2017
Member of the Mockingbird and Thrasher Family
Apparently there is §No Name for a group of Thrashers§ May I suggest §A Shred of Thrashers§?

Favorite Cactus: Chola

~true bird fact~ Just hates the Cactus Wren. The Wikipedia article states that our Thrasher here "will usually destroy any nest of cactus wrens." It's been a while since we've gotten a good Avian Rivalry on the ol' blog. Although now that I'm thinking about it, I certainly should've named that feature Avian Adversaries. Oh well, literally no way to fix it now! So why do they hate cactus Wrens? One could assume it's because they're competing ground-foraging species who live in the same area, but maybe it's more personal than that.

Honestly this Wikipedia article has a number of pretty bananas quotes about Curve-billed Thrasher, perhaps indicating that the world's only person who is truly passionate about Curve-billed Thrashers authored it. Literally every other resource I visited had like zero to say about Curve-billed Thrasher, but the wiki was filled with tidbits like the aforementioned dubious nickname and animosity towards Cactus Wrens. It also mentions editorially that the Curve-billed Thrasher's "...voice is regarded as more pleasant" than the Northern Mockingbird's. Also, there's this: "The demeanor of the curve-billed has been described as "shy and rather wild", but it allows humans to view it closely". Ok bud, cool normal observation there.

Shy, and rather wild
A hot sauce connoisseur
Sure, she can sing, but what she'd really prefer to do is rap battle

Et Tu Birdte? The Birds of March

Julius Caesar. Jesus Christ. Han Solo. All the subjects of famous betrayals. You know who else has been betrayed? These birds! Behold their tales of woe, dear reader, and take heed.

Northern Mockingbird's right hand man coveted his leadership position at Chemco, thinking he was the better bird for the job. He shoved Northern Mockingbird into a big open vat of chemicals at their evil chemical factory, which you think wouldn't work great because birds can fly. However, Northern Mockingbird was holding two doughnuts (one in each wing), and therefor was unable to get those wings moving in time. He was left for dead, but actually the chemicals gave him super powers, so he'll probably get revenge at some point.

Black Phoebe was not at fault for his downfall. He was pushed into a position of fame and prominence early in his life by his parents, who both had dreams of success that they hadn't achieved. After some early successful turns in commercials and TV shows, he got a major role in a movie that became a true genre classic. Black Phoebe missed a lot of school and normal social engagements to do this. He got exposed to some pretty messed up stuff early too, making it hard for him to transition into normal adulthood. His parents ended up embezzling all of the money he earned as an actor. He went through a rough patch, but seems to be getting some promising roles in indies now, and he's cleaned up his act.

California Scrub Jay was supposed to be a voice of his generation. His fiery speeches were compelling and convincing. He had a way of communicating that cut through typical political lines, speaking clearly both to the common man, and to the more idealistic types. Unfortunately, he kept getting caught sending inappropriate pictures, and in the mail, which made it even weirder. He survived a few scandals, but eventually retreated from the public eye. Years later, seeing what people are now willing to accept from their political leaders, he wonders why things turned out this way for him. In the end, he betrayed himself by believing that he could not fall in this way.

Anna's Hummingbird was talked into an adjustable rate mortgage when he didn't really have a stable enough income to cover it. Sure enough, times didn't stay green forever, and the house was repossessed, and financially he's never really recovered. The messed up part is that the shady realtor was his mother. Did she sabotage Anna's Hummingbird on purpose? Or was it a sub-conscious lashing-out as a result of their constant disagreements about the lifestyle choices he made? Either way, she knew about the risks and convinced him to go into it anyway. Anna's Hummingbird's credit score is still really bad. What a messed up thing to do.

Checking in with Florida Birds

It's been a while since we've visited with our Florida bird friends, but as you might've guessed from last weeks parrots, we took a trip not long ago. While there are some exciting new birds to come, we also caught up with some old favorites. What're they up to now? How's Florida treating them?

Great Blue Heron has gotten really into the art scene. He lives in a studio/work space now, and is very into his new housemates. We're happy for him, but he's actually not very talented. Art has to be more than just provocative, you know Blue Heron? Even worse, he's been sort of ignoring his old interests and friends. It'll all come crashing down eventually.

Brown Pelican is up to some sketchy behavior. After a failed bird of the year bid, he went down to Florida and got involved in some ill-defined business. He lost some weight, probably from sweating so much in the South Beach heat and humidity. Takes a lot of trips down to Cuba. Drugs? Arms deals? Guantanamo? We wouldn't put it past him.


Northern Mockingbird, as the state bird of Florida (among others), is distressed. She worries a lot these days about the state of politics, climate change, growing civil unrest. Really, just the whole thing. She is often seen with a furrowed brow, staring off into the distance. Where have the simpler times gone, she wonders, when her duties as state bird were mostly ceremonial, and she felt like she was making people happy? Nobody told her it was going to end up like this.


Oh. My. God. Have you guys seen Sandhill Crane's new baby? It is, like, seriously the cutest baby you have ever seen. And so well behaved too. She takes it everywhere and it doesn't make a fuss. Sandhill Crane's really got this mom thing down. Maybe it's easier than we thought to have a baby. Maybe not, Sandhill Crane does look a little tired.

Baby Birds in New York City

It's summer and baby birds are on the rise! Well, more like adolescent birds at this point, for the most part. These pictures were all taken in the past week or so in NYC, where your Amatuernithologist took a short vacation. Birding there was.. not spectacular as far as numbers or new species, but I got some good pictures, and there were some pretty neat discoveries that I'm sure you'll all be excited to see whenever they roll onto the blog. What New York did have, however, was an abundance of young birds, which is good news, since our Research shows that blog readers respond most to Cute Baby Animals (followed shortly by Unusual Animal Friends [UAFs]).

American Robin
The High Line, Manhattan, NYC, NY, USA
July 2015


When I saw this guy squabbling with an adult American Robin, I was hoping that I had a cool new bird. A little research confirmed that I was probably just looking at a younger robin. How come it's never a Wood Thrush? This bird listens to rebellious music.



This is American Robin in her adult form (and baby form, if you look closely). Notice how she has become more mature with age, and has settled into adult responsibility. Takes care of herself with small wellness rituals every day.

European Starling
Battery Park, Manhattan, NYC, NY, USA
July 2015

Major sibling rivalry here, these two birds are developing in different directions in order to differentiate themselves and find their own place in the world. Until they are no longer competing, there will be a high amount of stress in the family.


Makes you say "Wow, what a cool bird". I'm so glad some lunatic imported Starlings from Europe. This bird has decided that he doesn't want kids, and is going to seek fulfillment in a different way, perhaps artistically. Likes kids, but would rather be a 'cool uncle'.

Gray Catbird
Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn, NYC, NY, USA
July 2015

This Gray Catbird is really a baby, and as such has not developed any descernable personality yet. Bares a vaguely concerned and confused look most of the time. Experiences a muted and muffled version of our own reality.

Gray Catbird is really making something of himself. Time is money, show me the numbers, let's reorganize to optimize our marketshare. Might be successful, but has lost track of the ability to see the world as a place of beauty. On auto-pilot, for now. Some things that we knew as a baby, we forget.

Gray Catbird

Gray Catbird aka. Slate-gray Mockingbird
Green Cay, Boynton Beach, Florida, USA
April 2015
Member of the Mockingbird and Thrasher Family
§A Mewing of Catbirds§

~true bird fact~ We hope you, dear reader, are as delighted as we are to discover that the Gray Catbird actually does Meow. Well, it's debatable how much, exactly, he sounds like a cat, but enough so that that's what this bird is named after. Check this youtube video out (not mine) and decide for yourself. Like other member of his family, Gray Catbird has a well developed voice-box (in bird terms, a syrinx) and a complex song that often incorporates other noises from his environments, both natural and man made.

Completely unreadable in any conventional sense
Thinks he's a cat. Maybe he is. It's hard to deny such a strong conviction
Loves bells and shiny objects
Desires attention, but denies you his affection

Carl Linnaeus

1707-1778

A Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, Carl Linneaus did a lot for the field of ornithologist. It's his system of taxonomy (that is, classification of living things) that our system is still based on today. He's basically the guy that previously profiled naturalist William Swainson wanted to be, but without all the crazy. He was the first man to describe this catbird here, among 4400 other animals, in his groundbreaking work Systema Naturae, in which he pioneered the binomial scientific naming scheme. Believe it or not, animal names used to be much worse. Much of his writing, including this book, were in Latin, marking him as a total dweeb. Ironically, the catbird has an extremely complex taxonomical history and has been 'gotten wrong' a number of times. You don't name something a 'catbird' if you really know what it is, I guess. Unlike many in his field, and despite his clear nerd-dom, he was a bit of celebrity in his time, and was generally positively regarded by all. A cool Linnaeus story is that he once had to flee Hamburg because he called fake on a taxidermied hydra (!!!) that was the mayor's prized possession.

Northern Mockingbird

Northern Mockingbird
West Palm Beach, Florida, USA
Member of the Mockingbird and Thrasher Family
★special distinction★ state bird of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas
~true bird fact~ The Mockingbird is famous for its ability to imitate other birds' songs, as well as mechanical noises such as car alarms. However, although these imitations often fool humans, they almost never fool other birds. So why do they do it? The birds who can imitate the best are most likely to attract a mate.

Bold, yet subtle
His gifts may be natural, but he works as hard as anyone
Often tasked with spying on humans of interest
Has had his heart broken a few times