Overview

Sage Thrasher: Small thrasher, gray upperparts, dark-streaked white underparts with pale brown wash. The head is gray, bill is short and slightly decurved. Wings are dark with thin,white bars. Tail is dark with white corners. Legs and feet are black. Fast flight on shallow wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Sage Thrasher: Breeds in the western U.S. from eastern Washington and Oregon, across southern Idaho and Montana south through Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada to northern Arizona and New Mexico. Spends winters in southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, as well as northern Mexico, including Baja California. Preferred habitats include dry sagebrush plains and arid areas such as the floors of rocky canyons.

Breeding and Nesting

Sage Thrasher: Four to seven green blue to dark blue eggs heavily spotted with brown are laid in a nest made of twigs, forbs, bits of bark, and leaves, and lined with fine material. Nest is usually built in sagebrush or another large bush with a broad crown. Incubation ranges from 13 to 17 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Sage Thrasher: Eats insects, other invertebrates, and berries; forages on the ground and in vegetation.

Readily Eats

Suet, Sunflower Seed, Nuts

Vocalization

Sage Thrasher: Song is a long, melodious ramble consisting of varied notes and syllables. Some birds sing all night long, especially when the moon is full. Alarm call is "chuck-chuck."

Similar Species

Sage Thrasher: Bendire's and Curve-billed thrashers have decurved bills, browner upperparts, and fewer spots on underparts.