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  Profile

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  In flight

Songbirds

Bendire's Thrasher

Toxostoma bendirei

• rare
• 55 km/h
• Vulnerable

Subtle, straight-billed, easy to miss. The shy cousin in the thrasher family photo.

Population

~83,000 mature individuals (2019 Partners in Flight estimate), declining sharply (statistically significant decrease over last 40 years, projected 30-49% further reduction next decade)

Habitat

Sparse, open desert habitats — grassland, shrubland, and woodland with scattered shrubs or trees (including Joshua tree stands), from near sea level up to about 1,800 m (6,000 ft) elevation

Fun fact

Bendire's Thrasher is named for U.S. Army lieutenant and naturalist Charles Bendire, who collected the first specimen near Fort Lowell, Arizona, on July 28, 1872, sending it to Smithsonian ornithologist Elliott Coues for identification.

Range

Southwestern United States (southeastern California/Mojave Desert, southern Nevada, southern Utah, southwestern Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico) south into northwestern Mexico (Sonora, Sinaloa, Baja California); northern populations are migratory, moving south/east in winter

Diet

Primarily ground-dwelling insects and other arthropods, probed or pulled from soil, crevices, and leaf litter with its bill; also eats seeds and small berries/fruits from low vegetation

Size

0.24 m

Lifespan

9.5 years