Brown Thrasher Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesBrown Thrasher
Adult
Large songbirds with long proportions—long, sturdy legs, a long tail, and a long, slightly curved bill. Reddish brown above with thin black-and-white wing bars and bold dark streaking below.
© Martina Nordstrand / Macaulay LibraryNorth Carolina, May 13, 2020Adult
Large songbird with a long, slightly curved bill. Reddish brown above with a yellow eye.
© Mark Schulist / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, February 22, 2019Adult
Exuberant and accomplished songsters that may sing more than 1,100 different song types.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, May 08, 2014Adult
Sometimes difficult to see in dense shrubbery, despite its size and bold patterning.
© James Kinderman / Macaulay LibraryWisconsin, April 22, 2017Adult
Slender and long-tailed with bold streaking down the breast.
© Martina Nordstrand / Macaulay LibraryNorth Carolina, December 20, 2020Habitat
Found in scrubby fields, dense regenerating woods, thickets, hedgerows, and forest edges.
© Steve Schuyler / Macaulay LibraryNew York, April 29, 2016Similar SpeciesLong-billed Thrasher
Adult
Where they overlap with wintering Brown Thrashers in south Texas and eastern Mexico, Long-billed is more gray-brown and Brown is more rusty-brown. The streaks on Long-billed's chest and belly are blacker, and the face is grayer.
© Johnny Bovee / Macaulay LibraryTexas, January 31, 2016Similar SpeciesWood Thrush
Adult/immature
Wood Thrushes are smaller, with a shorter bill and tail than Brown Thrashers. Wood Thrushes have spotted underparts instead of streaked underparts and plain, unbarred wings.
© Margaret Viens / Macaulay LibraryMaine, May 13, 2015Similar SpeciesNorthern Cardinal
Female
Female Northern Cardinals can show just enough reddish to approximate the color of a Brown Thrasher, but cardinals have shorter tails, peaked heads, and much thicker bills.
© Wen Xu / Macaulay LibraryOntario, February 11, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Mockingbirds and Thrashers(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Mimidae)
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