Crissal thrasher

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Crissal thrasher

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Mimidae
Genus: Toxostoma
Species:
T. crissale
Binomial name
Toxostoma crissale
Henry, 1858
Crissal thrasher range

The crissal thrasher (Toxostoma crissale) is a large thrasher found in the Southwestern United States (western Texas, southern New Mexico, southern Arizona, southeastern California, extreme southern Nevada, and extreme southwestern Utah) to central Mexico.

Description

The bird grows to 32 centimetres (13 in), and has a deeply curved

scrub oak, high elevations in manzanita, and in the low desert near canyon chaparral. The bird seldom flies in the open.[2][3] As such, the crissal thrasher rarely flies, preferring to walk or run around its territory and will mostly run for cover when disturbed by a potential predator.[4] The bird's name is derived from the characteristic bright coloring, in contrast to the balance of its plumage, of the area between its tail and vent—a region known as the crissum.[5]

History

In the early years of the study of the birds of western North America, this species was confused with the

Spencer Baird at the Smithsonian Institution. Baird determined that it was not a California thrasher and published his findings in 1858, identifying the crissal thrasher as a new species.[7]

Printer's errors in Baird's 1858 publication led to longstanding confusion and contention over the naming of the crissal thrasher. As printed, Baird's publication identified the new species as Toxostoma dorsalis, because the printer had switched the

Harry Oberholser published a note asserting that T. dorsalis must be used instead because it had publication priority over T. crissalis, even though the original publication had been a mistake and had been quickly corrected.[7][8] As a result, the T. dorsalis epithet appeared in ornithological literature until 1983, when the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature formally restored Baird's intended name of T. crissale.[7]

Nest

The crissal thrasher builds its

incubated for about 2 weeks, with both the male and female taking turns on the nest. The young are fledged 11 to 13 days after they hatch.[9] The chick is paler and duller than the adult, with a browner undertail.[10]

Diet

The species is an

fruits. The crissal thrasher is mainly a ground feeder, using its long bill to probe for its prey amongst the leaf litter, particularly under shrubs.[4][7][9]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22711127A94279394.en
    . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Peterson's Field Guide to Birds of North America, page 322
  3. ^ The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Western Region, pg. 523
  4. ^ a b c d e "Crissal Thrasher Life History". The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Archived from the original on 2010-07-25. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  5. ISBN 978-0-8165-2644-4
    .
  6. ^ John Cassin (1856), Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British, and Russian America. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. Pages 260-264.
  7. ^ a b c d "Crissal Thrasher". The Birds of North America. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  8. The Auk, Vol. 37, page 303. [1]
  9. ^ a b c d "CRISSAL THRASHER". Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  10. ^ "Crissal Thrasher Identification". The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 2010-11-06.

Further reading

Book

  • Cody, M. L. 1999. Crissal Thrasher (Toxostoma crissale). In The Birds of North America, No. 419 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

Thesis

  • Laudenslayer WFJ. Ph.D. (1981). HABITAT UTILIZATION BY BIRDS OF THREE DESERT RIPARIAN COMMUNITIES. Arizona State University, United States—Arizona.

Articles

  • Anderson BW, Ohmart RD & Fretwell SD. (1982). Evidence for Social Regulation in Some Riparian Bird Populations. American Naturalist. vol 120, no 3. pp. 340–352.
  • Finch DM. (1982). Rejection of Cowbird Molothrus-Ater-Obscurus Eggs by Crissal Thrashers Toxostoma-Dorsale. Auk. vol 99, no 4. pp. 719–724.
  • Hubbard JP. (1976). The Nomenclatural History of the Crissal Thrasher Aves Mimidae. Nemouria. vol 20, pp. 1–7.
  • Kozma JM & Mathews NE. (1997). Breeding bird communities and nest plant selection in Chihuahuan desert habitats in south-central New Mexico. Wilson Bulletin. vol 109, no 3. pp. 424–436.
  • LaRue CT, Dickson LL, Brown NL, Spence JR & Stevens LE. (2001). Recent bird records from the Grand Canyon region, 1974–2000. Western Birds. vol 32, no 2. pp. 101–118.
  • Melville RV. (1983). Toxostoma-Crissale Ruled to Be the Correct Original Spelling of the Name First Published as Toxostoma-Dorsalis. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. vol 40, no 2. pp. 83–84.
  • Patten MA, Erickson RA & Unitt P. (2004). Population changes and biogeographic affinities of the birds of the Salton Sink, California/Baja California. Studies in Avian Biology. vol 27, pp. 24–32.
  • Zink RM, Dittmann DL, Klicka J & Blackwell-Rago RC. (1999). Evolutionary patterns of morphometrics, allozymes, and mitochondrial DNA in thrashers (genus Toxostoma). Auk. vol 116, no 4. pp. 1021–1038.

External links

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