View full list of Washington State's Species of Special Concern. 2001, Barber et al. When alarmed, Sage Thrashers flick their tail upward repeatedly. The rambling series of phrases, often preceded by soft clucking notes, is continuous and interspersed with moments of repetition and mimicry. 2004). Grayish brown with buffy wash on belly and sides and thin white wingbars. Sage Thrashers are fairly small songbirds with relatively long legs and tail. Bald Eagle. In spring the males sing seemingly endless cascades of song from tall perches. Conservation Status. In winter, the sage thrasher retreats to southern Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, west Texas, and northern Mexico. The Sage Thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus) is a medium-sized songbird that can be distinguished from other thrashers by its smaller size, short tail and short bill. Sage thrasher at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. From late summer into the winter, they eat berries and other wild fruit. Spread the word. Sage Thrashers are furtive creatures that hunt for insects beneath a protective sagebrush canopy. Brown-headed Cowbirds sometimes lay eggs in nest, but cowbird eggs are rejected and tossed out by the adult thrashers. Perches in shrubs and low trees to feed on berries. Streaked below and grayish brown above with a pale eye. Small, slightly downcurved bill. Learn more. They seldom form flocks, and are found in pairs or family groups. The sage thrasher is a medium-sized passerine bird from the family Mimidae, which also includes mockingbirds, tremblers, and New World catbirds. In the summer, during breeding season, sage thrashers are most abundant in the Great Basin, central Nevada, southeastern Oregon, eastern Idaho, and the Wyoming Basin. They lay four or five eggs in the nest, and raise two broods in one season, at least in the central part of the breeding range. Photo: Mick Thompson/Flickr (CC-BY-NC-2.0). Occasionally, they forage on berries and grapes. They have a slim straight relatively short bill, yellow eyes and a long tail, although not as long as that of other thrashers. 2001, Barber et al. Get Instant ID help for 650+ North American birds. Find sage thrashers on the Songbird Abundance Map. Sage Thrashers generally winter in the high deserts of the southwestern US and northern Mexico, but some birds may winter at the southern edge of the breeding range and may concentrate in areas with abundant berries. It is the only member of the genus Oreoscoptes. Look for Sage Thrashers in relatively undisturbed stretches of sagebrush. The sage thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus) is a medium-sized passerine bird from the family Mimidae, which also includes mockingbirds, tremblers, and New World catbirds. During the breeding season, its melodious song can be heard incessantly at dawn on the sagebrush flats. Migration of Sage Thrashers is short-distance, and can be somewhat unpredictable. The Sage Thrasher is sometimes elusive; if pursued closely it may seem to disappear, only to pop up on a bush top a hundred yards away. Citation for the CWHR System is as follows: California Department of Fish and Wildlife California Interagency Wildlife Task Group. Oscines are capable of more complex song, and are considered the true songbirds. Mimids are medium-sized songbirds with strong legs, long bills, and gray or brown plumage. Visit your local Audubon center, join a chapter, or help save birds with your state program. In flight, look for white corners on tail. West of the Cascades, they are casual to rare migrants in spring.Click here to visit this species' account and breeding-season distribution map in Sound to Sage, Seattle Audubon's on-line breeding bird atlas of Island, King, Kitsap, and Kittitas Counties. It’s the least you can do. May also perform flight display, singing while flying in low zigzag over brush, then alighting and holding the wings raised and fluttering for a moment. Many have streaked or spotted breasts. The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. Still common in appropriate habitat. Almost 300 community scientists collected valuable data about the health of this hallowed habitat and its residents. We call this the bird’s “climatic range. Adults may raise 2 broods per year. All images credit to and courtesy of the U.S. Photo: Dick Dickinson/Audubon Photography Awards, Adult, worn plumage. Conservation Status. Mockingbirds and Thrashers(Order: Passeriformes, Family:Mimidae). While sage thrashers are numerous, their populations have declined by 0.6% per year in North America since 1968. Forest Service lands that include important habitat for Greater Sage-Grouse and 350 other species of wildlife now at increased risk of further development. In Washington, the tyrant flycatchers are the only suboscines; the remaining 27 families are oscines. Tips of the outer tail feathers are white, there are two whitish wingbars, and the eye is yellow. They arrive early on the breeding grounds, and depart early as well. During the breeding season, its melodious song can be heard incessantly at dawn on the sagebrush flats. 3-5, sometimes more or fewer. Most forage on the ground, and use their long bills to dig in the soil. Your best bet is in spring, when the males are likely to spend much of the early morning out in the open, singing. During breeding season, Sage Thrashers eat mostly insects, including grasshoppers, tent caterpillars, and beetles. Thus increased protection of sagebrush is needed to assure that these thrashers remain common.
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