From a small town to a big city...
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A Birding Blog
By Jared Conaway
From a small town to a big city...
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That is right. I did. I thrashed it onto my Life List, finally. Hi everyone! Usually I got some kinda build up leading up to the lifer, or lifers, or the reason behind the title. Usually, that's because many typical and familiar birds, such as House finches/Sparrows, WC Sparrows, Gracks, Stalings, UC Collared-Doves, Pigies, etc. are present long before my target species are. But today this paragraph is as much build up as you're going to get in this post, because yesterday evening the BENDIRE'S THRASHER was the only bird that I saw. So here are my photos: The most reliable place for this species is of course, the Thrasher Spot. So if you can imagine, I was very surprised when this guy showed up in my yard (well, technically my neighbor's yard). Funny thing was, when I first saw this bird yesterday, i said, "Oh hey little Towhee." First of all, that pretty much defines the size and shape of a Bendire's Thrasher well enough. Second, that's not the only reason I called him a "towhee." He was raising his tail, and peaking his crown, a behavioral trait the BETH and ABTH (Bendire's Thrasher and Abert's Towhee) share. However, this trait excludes the Curve-billed Thrasher, who usually keeps tail only partially raised. This particular bird's tail was nearly held vertically, a characteristic that should immediately rule out thoughts of it being a CBTH. Before I get to the key points of identifying this species, here's a history note on the thrashers that have been in my yard:
I currently have 2 very small thrashers in my yard. One is slightly larger than a Towhee and has been around for a month or 2. It behaves, sings, and has a curved lower mandible just like a CBTH, he's just much smaller than normal adults. His tail is also shorter than average, and bill is thinner. The 2nd thrasher, pictured above, was confirmed to be a BETH only yesterday, because I've only seen him twice now and last time he didn't stick around long. The first bird is either a highly unusual purity of CBTH, or it is a hybrid between the 2. The 2nd bird I'm very sure is a pure BETH. My designation for the latter will be explained right now. If you live in the southwest like me, especially in Arizona or New Mexico, these are all the traits that set the 2 apart (expect to see Vs. a lot). Usually, you can expect almost every one of those to be Curve-billed, especially in an urban environment. However, these key field marks should definately be memorized, because some time or other you'll get very lucky and see a Bendire's in an unusual urban habitat like me! ALL of these distinguishing behavioral, visual, and vocal traits were found on this individual, except song:
Lastly, yes, the BENDIRE'S THRASHER is a lifer for me! I'm Jared Conaway, and stay tuned for my next post!
1 Comment
8/1/2022 08:45:36 pm
Instagram düşmeyen takipçi satın almak güvenilir adresler üzerinde tercih edildiği takdirde istenilen sonucu oluşturuyor. Sizlerde istediğiniz sonuçlara hızlı bir şekilde adresimiz ile ulaşım sağlayabilirsiniz.
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About meJared Conaway Month Archives
December 2019
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Life List
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