Sunday, April 18, 2010

Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)

The Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) is Georgia’s State Bird. I see them at our place frequently. Usually they are in the field hunting insects when I startle them. They fly back low to the ground back to perch on a low fence wire among the bushes. They are hard to photograph.

I photographed this bird along the Berry Trail in Fort Yargo State Park early one morning just after sunrise. It was unusual to see one perched high in a tree. It was nervous and I was lucky to get this shot.

Click on the image to view a larger image


Identification resources:

- The Cornell Institute of Ornithology - All About Birds: Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)

- Georgia Museum of Natural History: Southeastern Birds
- Georgia State Symbols

2 comments:

Joy K. said...

Yes, they ARE hard to photograph: very twitchy for a big bird.

We have one that visits the sunflower seed buffet on the front railing. It's interesting that when it startles, instead of flying up and away, it invariably drops straight down toward the ground.

JSK said...

Hi Joy. That's interesting that you have one that drops straight down. Does it fly off low to the ground or hang around? Sounds like this could be a good way to get a photograph.