Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)

Brown Thrasher [ventro-lateral view of juvenile]. Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; Lakeland Dr., Putnam County, Tennessee; 19 May 2018.

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Abundance: Fairly Common during spring, summer, and fall; Uncommon to Very Uncommon during winter; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the Regional breeding population trend is probably stable (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; specimen (14 June 1938; Monticello, Wayne County, Kentucky; W. M. Perrygo; Wetmore 1940); photograph [lateral view of adult] (Stephen J. Stedman; Pikeville, Bledsoe County, Tennessee; 21 April 2002).

Regional High Count and SBC/SBB High Count: 111 (10 May 2008; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 60 (20 September 2008; Putnam County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.); CBC/CBB High Count: 20 (29 December 1972; Putnam County, Tennessee [Cookeville CBC]; m. obl).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 59 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 111 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, resulting in a YardWatch frequency classification of Fairly Common during each year; this YardWatch frequency classification is consistent with the overall Regional abundance classification during spring, summer, and fall, but not during winter.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: The thrasher is one of several species whose population during winter is considerably less dense than its population during the other seasons of the year.  Like the winter abundance of the Eastern Phoebe, the winter abundance of the thrasher varies somewhat from winter to winter, mostly being Uncommon but sometimes being Very Uncommon; the thrasher's winter abundance is perhaps correlated with the quantity and abundance of the soft mast crop available in the Region during winter.

    Most of the breeding population of thrashers spends the winter to the south of the Region, returning in early to mid-March, at which time males begin to sing in preparation for the nesting season.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited