Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 9.1–9.8 in
23–25 cm - Weight
- 2.1 oz
60 g
Other Names
- Moqueur de Bendire (French)
- Cuitlacoche Sonorense, Cuitlacoche Piquicorto (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- Bendire's Thrasher often cocks its tail over its back when running.
Habitat
Deserts
Desert, especially areas of tall vegetation, cholla cactus, creosote bush and yucca, and in juniper woodland.
Food
Insects
Insects, spiders, seeds, and berries.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 3–5 eggs
- Egg Description
- White or very pale blue-green with dark speckles.
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless.
Nest Description
Open cup of sticks, lined with soft materials. Placed in shrubs, cacti, or trees.
Nest Placement
Shrub
Behavior
Ground Forager
Forages on ground, pokes and probes in plant litter, and digs in the soil with its bill.
Conservation
Vulnerable
May be declining in some areas. Listed as "Species of Special Concern" in California.
Credits
- England, A. S. and W. F. Laudenslayer, Jr. 1993. Bendire’s Thrasher (Toxostoma bendirei). In The Birds of North America, No. 71 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists’ Union.