Long-billed thrasher

Toxostoma longirostre

Photo by Bill Bouton (Wikipedia)

Common name:

long-billed thrasher (en); sabiá-de-bico-longo (pt); moqueur à long bec (fr); cuitlacoche de pico largo (es); langschnabel-spottdrossel (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Mimidae

Range:

This North American species is only found in southern Texas and northeast Mexico, between Tamaulipas and Veracruz.

Size:

These slender birds are 26,5-29 cm long and have a wingspan of 33 cm. They weigh on average 68 g.

Habitat:

They occur in a variety of scrubby of thicketed habitats, namely along riparian woodland and mesquite.

Diet:

The long-billed thrasher is an omnivorous bird, eating mostly grasshoppers, beetles, spiders, snails, slugs and various kinds of berries.

Breeding:

They build a bulky cup-shaped nest in thick low or mid-height vegetation. The nest is mostly made of twigs and grasses. The females lay 2-5 bluish-white eggs with dense reddish-brown and gray speckles. The eggs are incubated for 13-14 days by both parents. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge after 12-14 days. Long-billed thrashers may produce two broods per year.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

With a current population estimated at 400.000 individuals, this species has undergone a large and significant increase over the last 40 years. Consequently, the species is not threatened at present.