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  In flight

Songbirds

Curve-billed Thrasher

Toxostoma curvirostre

• rare
• 55 km/h
• Least Concern

Loud "whit-wheet!" out of every cholla in the Sonoran. The desert's nosiest courier.

Population

Not numerically quantified by IUCN/BirdLife; population described as large, with a small/statistically insignificant long-term decrease (~last 40 years) noted from North American breeding surveys and Christmas Bird Counts covering less than half the range

Habitat

Arid and semi-arid desert scrub and thornscrub — dense cholla cactus, saguaro, mesquite, palo verde, ocotillo and creosote bush; also brushlands, thorn scrub, woodland edges, piñon-oak/piñon-juniper foothills, desert grasslands with cholla, and desert vegetation near human settlements; occurs from sea level to ~3,000 m elevation

Fun fact

Called cuicacoche ("songbird") in Mexico, the Curve-billed Thrasher has an extensive song repertoire and will sometimes mimic other birds, while aggressively defending its territory and fledglings against predators and competitors alike.

Range

Resident (non-migratory), extent of occurrence ~2,860,000 km², from the southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, west Texas, southeastern Colorado, southwestern Kansas) south through the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts and the Mexican Plateau into Mexico

Diet

Omnivorous — ground-foraged beetles, moths, caterpillars, spiders, ants, snails and other invertebrates (probed from soil/leaf litter with its curved bill), plus cactus fruit (prickly pear, saguaro), berries (hackberry, anacua), seeds, agave flowers, and occasional nectar from saguaro blossoms (incidental pollinator); known to also take dog food near settlements

Size

0.28 m

Wingspan

0.345 m

Lifespan

10.75 years