WESTERN BIRDS Thrasher 



ico, south, on the cactus deserts and up to 3,000 feet, is 

 found the Palmer Thrasher (T, c. palmeri), a subspecies 

 of the Curve-billed. It differs from the other in having 

 its markings less distinct. The wing bars are paler, or 

 wanting; the tail is tipped with lighter, instead of white, 

 and the under markings are indistinct. Both birds have 

 curved bills. 



GENUS TOXOSTOMA: BENDIRE 

 THRASHER. 



Bendire Thrasher: Toxostoma bendirei. 

 FAMILY— THRASHERS, MOCKINGBIRDS, ETC. 



Another desert species which is locally a common 

 resident in southeastern and northeastern Arizona, 

 wandering to southeastern California, is known as the 

 Bendire Thrasher. 



Harry S. Swarth in his list of the Arizona Birds says 

 that our present knowledge seems to indicate an exceed- 

 ingly irregular and disconnected range. In southeastern 

 Arizona it is very abundant in the valley of the Santa 

 Cruz, west of the Santa Rita Mountains, while it is 

 almost unknown east of that range. It is common in 

 the plains and valleys stretching northwest of Tucson, 

 as far as Phoenix and along the Gila River at least as 

 far as Gila Bend. 



An injured bird of this species was once found in Los 

 Angeles, toward Pasadena, and just how the bird hap- 

 pened there is still a mystery. 



This Bendire Thrasher is more like a Mockingbird in 

 shape, bill, and eye, than any bird I have seen. Where 

 the Mocker is gray, this bird is a light tan and his bill 

 is slightly more curved, but the expression of the eye is 

 the same. The Cholly cactus is a favorite nesting place. 



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