Sam's blog has already helped out with a bit of a mystery. When I went through photos for a post on Curve-Billed Thrashers, I found similar birds looking slightly different. Perhaps the answer is in his post on Estero Llano Grande State Park and one or all of these birds are actually Long-billed Thrashers. Both are found in this area and more study is needed.
Thanks to Abbey at Down to Earth for bringing this excellent and informative blog to my attention as well.
:) So glad I could help out with the thrasher. I looked at your other photos on your blog post and it looks like a Long-billed Thrasher. Note the gray on the face around the orange eye. There is also definite streaking on the breast whereas the Curve-billed Thrashers have light spotting on the breast. Curve-bills are also mostly gray.
ReplyDeleteNow there's also the Brown Thrasher, which could be mistaken for a Long-billed Thrasher. However, Brown Thrashers have a bright cinnamon-brown back and have a yellow eye with no gray in the face. Long-bills have some gray in the face and have duller browns than the Brown Thrasher.
To me, having Long-billed Thrashers in your yard is more special than having the other two simply because this species is typically ONLY seen in South Texas. Birders from all around the country have to come to Texas to see this special bird. That makes it a TRUE Lone Star Bird. :) And you have it in your own back yard! Congrats!
Thank you Sam! I will add a note and forwarding link in the older post. Oddly, Long-Billed Thrasher never came up in my searches for an ID on these birds that we enjoyed all summer.
ReplyDeleteThey are certainly striking and now we understand just how special they are.
Neat! It's Sam an awesome resource. Thanks to both of you for teaching me something new.
Delete...And thank you Abbey for introducing me to his blog.
DeleteAbbey, I tried to email you but couldn't find an email on your blog.
What an interesting bird! It does look loke a Thrasher because of the face and beak but it's just a bit different, isn't it?:) Cool catch.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris.
DeleteThese subtle differences are challenging to a newbie. Several of my bird photos remain unidentified because they could be a female of one type or a juvenile of another.
That is cool, especially how you have a bird that defines your ecoregion - long-billed thrasher! (we have many curve billed thrashers in Abq, but not the others) Looking forward to looking at that guide. (I have a way to go learning birds)
ReplyDeleteYes, and it's great to have such a good local resource now since bird ID sites are lacking ecoregion details.
DeleteChecked out Sam's blog. He's got some lovely photos on there. You certainly have some wonderful birds in Texas. Glad you managed to identify the mystery bird.
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen that one around here. I'll keep looking, though.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip on Sam's blog.
Such a cute little bird! I love seeing new birds - it's definitely so much harder to identify brown birds and figure out the little differences between them!
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