Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)


Group	Mimic Thrushes
Code	ABPBK06010
Order	Passeriformes
Family	Mimidae
Author	(Linnaeus, 1758)
Rank	G5 (definitions)
Occurrence	SM (definitions)
Scale	C (definitions)

County List:


Western UP	all
Eastern UP	all
Northern LP	all
Southern LP	all

Rule:

Mixed Forested/Nonforested Landscapes

1st alternative:
      (Any Upland Deciduous (Regen))
      or (Any Upland Mixed (Regen)) 
   containing:
      Mast
   adjacent to:
      Edge

2nd alternative:
      Upland Brush
      or Savanna
   containing:
      Mast

view decision rule term definitions

Habitat List:

Habitats	Regen	Sap	Pole	Sm Saw	Lg Saw	Uneven
Aspen	YES	no	no	no	no	-
Paper Birch	YES	no	no	no	no	-
Oak	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Assorted Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Northern Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Spruce/Fir	no	no	no	no	no	no
Hemlock	no	no	no	no	no	no
Jack Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Red Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
White Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Conifer Plantations	no	no	no	no	no	-
Mixed Upland Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Northern Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Upland Conifer	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Pine	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Swamp Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Balsam Poplar & Swamp Aspen & Swamp Birch	no	no	no	no	no	no
Bottomland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Tamarack	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern White Cedar	no	no	no	no	no	no
Black Spruce	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Non-Forested	Upland Brush, Savanna
Special Features	Mast, Edges

view size class definitions

Literature:

Eastman, J. 1991. Brown Thrasher. Pages 364-365 In: R. Brewer, G. A. McPeek, and R. J. Adams, Jr. (eds.) The atlas of breeding birds of Michigan. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing. 594 pp.

Habitat: While Brown Thrashers occupy a variety of cover types, they are primarily forest-edge dwellers, preferring the earlier shrub stages of plant succession. Favored locales include brushy undergrowth, vine tangles, and dense shrub thickets. Atlas Habitat Survey data showed the highest frequency of thrashers in deciduous-mixed shrub upland and shrubby old field habitats throughout the state. Other common habitats include shrub wetland and dry conifer forest/savanna. In the northern Lower Peninsula, Kendeigh found 5 males per 40.5 acres, a relatively low density, in mixed coniferous-deciduous edge areas.

This bird usually places its bulky nest less than 7 feet high in shrubs; late-season nests are often built higher than initial nests. Bent reported ground nests more common in New England states than in the Midwest. A deep, nonacid humus litter provides the bird's primary diet of invertebrates during the breeding season.

DeGraaf, R. M. and D. D. Rudis. 1986. New England wildlife: habitat, natural history, and distribution. GTR NE-108. Broomall, PA:USDA, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 491 pp.

Habitat: Breeding: Bushes, low trees, tangle of vines in open pastures or woodland edges and clearings in early stages of second growth. Hedgerows along roadsides and fields are preferred. Absent from higher mountains of New England. Wintering: Coastal areas where climate is mild and sparse snow cover allows birds to find foods.

Special Habitat Requirements: Low, dense woody vegetation for nesting and cover.

Kaufman, K. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 675 pp.

Habitat: Thickets, brush, shrubbery, thorn scrub. Breeds in areas of dense low growth, especially thickets around edges of deciduous or mixed woods, shrubby edges of swamp or undergrowth in open pine woods; also in suburban neighborhoods with many shrubs and hedges.

Diet: Varied, includes insects, berries, nuts. More than half of the diet is insects, including beetles, caterpillars, true bugs, grasshoppers, cicadas, and many others; also eats spiders, sowbugs, earthworms, snails, crayfish, and sometimes lizards and frogs. Berries and small fruits also very important in diet, especially in fall and winter, and eats many nuts and seeds, particularly acorns.

Nest: Usually placed 2-7 feet above the ground in a dense shrub, vine tangle or low tree. Sometimes on the ground under dense cover, or as high as 12 feet up. Nest is a bulky structure with foundation of sticks supporting a loose cup of twigs, leaves, weeds, grass, bark fibers, lined with finer materials such as grass or rootlets.