The brown thrasher is the official state bird of Georgia. The brown thrasher was designated as the official state bird of Georgia in 1935. Here are some quick facts about the brown thrasher as the state bird of Georgia:
Quick Facts
- Scientific Name: Toxostoma rufum
- Common Name: Brown thrasher
- Family: Mimidae (mockingbirds and thrashers)
- Georgia Designation: Official state bird in 1935
- Habitat: Shrublands, forest edges, backyard thickets
- Identifying Features: Bright reddish-brown upperparts, heavily streaked underparts, long tail, curved bill
- Diet: Insects, spiders, snails, berries
- Behavior: Sings loudly with repeating musical phrases, runs along ground while foraging
The brown thrasher is a familiar bird across the southeastern United States that is best known for its melodious song. With its rich brown plumage and elegant long tail, the thrasher has a refined appearance befitting a state symbol. The species was an appropriate choice to represent the natural heritage of Georgia.
About the Brown Thrasher
The brown thrasher is a medium-sized songbird found throughout the eastern and southern United States. They inhabit forest edges, dense shrub thickets, backyard woods, and parks. Brown thrashers spend much of their time hidden in vegetation close to the ground searching for food. They use their curved bill to dig and flip over leaves to uncover insects, spiders, snails, nuts, acorns, and berries.
Brown thrashers are noted for their singing ability. Males have an extensive repertoire of over 1000 different song phrases that they repeat and rearrange into complex melodies. The songs are loud and carry through the woods. They deliver each phrase twice before switching to a new one, often interspersing short whistled notes between phrases. The songs impart a feeling of richness and beauty to the landscape.
The brown thrasher is the state bird of Georgia and also holds official status in South Carolina and Mississippi. Georgia lies in the core of the Southeastern U.S. range of the brown thrasher, where the species can be found statewide in appropriate scrubby habitat. The brown thrasher was adopted as a state symbol of Georgia in 1935 based on a recommendation from a state conservation group noting its familiarity and musicality.
Physical Description
The brown thrasher is a medium-to-large sized songbird measuring 11.5-13.5 inches in length with a wingspan of 12-13 inches and weight of 2-3 ounces. They have an elegant and elongated shape with a long tail that composes nearly half of their total body length. The tail often arcs downward slightly giving the bird a graceful outline.
The plumage of the brown thrasher is a bright reddish-brown above and pale below with heavy dark streaking. The face is buff colored with dark lines through the eyes. The wings and short square-tipped tail are a rich rufous color. The breast and belly are prominently streaked in dense patterns. The eyes are yellow with black pupils. The bill is medium-long, very slightly downcurved, and grayish-black on top grading to a yellowish lower mandible.
Males and females look alike. Juveniles have paler breast streaking and a faint eye ring. In flight, the contrasting color pattern of the wings and tail is readily apparent.
Habitat
Brown thrashers are found in the understory of open woods, particularly young second growth stands, and areas with dense tangled thickets such as fencerows, forest edges, and hedgerows. They favor sites with abundant thorny vegetation that provides cover and nesting sites. In the Southeast they thrive in stands of young pine interspersed with blackberry bushes. They readily inhabit parks, suburban yards, cemeteries, and other habitats that offer a mix of shrubs, vines and small trees.
Behavior
Brown thrashers spend their time close to the ground foraging in dense thickets. They frequently hop along while flicking through dead leaves seeking insects and other prey. They will occasionally probe into soil. Brown thrashers shy from open areas and are secretive outside the breeding season, but can still be drawn out by pishing.
Males sing loudly and exuberantly from high exposed perches early in breeding season to establish territories and attract females. Pairs remain together on territories throughout the breeding season. Outside of breeding season they live alone. They migrate at night in small flocks.
Brown thrashers exhibit erratic flight low to the ground with fluttering wingbeats interspersed with brief glides. Their flight lacks grace compared to related mockingbirds.
Diet
Brown thrashers are omnivorous, feeding on both animal and plant matter. The bulk of their diet consists of insects, spiders, and other small invertebrates. Beetles, caterpillars, roaches, crickets, ants, wasps, and grasshoppers are taken. Millipedes, centipedes, worms, snails, and slugs are also eaten. They supplement this diet with small vertebrates including treefrogs, lizards, snakes, rodents, and birds’ eggs and nestlings. They also eat a wide variety of wild plant foods including berries, seeds of grasses and weeds, acorns, and nuts. They employ a variety of foraging methods including flipping over debris, creeping through ground litter, hovering to pick insects from foliage, and reaching to pluck fruit.
Breeding
Brown thrashers form monogamous breeding pairs during the spring. Courting males will sing endlessly while bobbing and bowing with wings drooped and spread. Pairs choose dense shrubby areas in which to build a nest out of twigs, bark, leaves, vines, and grasses. It is shaped like a compact cup placed low in a tangle of branches for concealment. The female lays 3-5 eggs that are pale blue or greenish with brown speckles incubates them for 12-14 days. Both parents feed the nestlings which leave the nest at 10-12 days old.
Brown thrashers raise 2-3 broods per season across their breeding range. Nests are frequently parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds. Pairs aggressively defend nest sites against intruders but will sometimes accept cowbird eggs. However, thrashers may bury foreign eggs in nest material.
Migration
Northern populations of brown thrashers are migratory, wintering across the southern half of the breeding range. Southern birds are often permanent residents. Spring migration runs from March to May with males arriving a few weeks ahead of females on breeding territories. Fall migration occurs between September and November. They migrate exclusively at night in loose flocks, navigating by the stars.
Conservation Status
Brown thrasher populations declined in the early and mid 20th century due to loss of scrubby habitat but rebounded after the regeneration of second growth forest across parts of their range. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 13 million with 79% living in the U.S. They are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act but not considered threatened.
The Brown Thrasher as a State Symbol of Georgia
The brown thrasher was adopted as the official state bird of Georgia in 1935. It was promoted for state bird by the Georgia Ornithological Society who praised its familiarity, musicality, and natural heritage in the state. The mockingbird had been the top choice but was vetoed because it was already the state bird of multiple states. Georgia lies at the heart of the Southeastern U.S. range of the brown thrasher where it can be found statewide.
Prevalence in Georgia
The brown thrasher is a common and characteristic bird of rural and suburban areas across Georgia. The dense thickets of young loblolly pine stands interspersed with blackberry brambles that proliferated across the state during part of the 20th century provided ideal habitat, allowing brown thrasher numbers to thrive. The species occurs statewide and has a strong cultural connection with Georgia residents.
Musical Significance
The brown thrasher is renowned for its melodious and complex songs delivered from high perches during breeding season. Their vocals are loud, ringing expressions that carry through the woods and ornament the soundscape. Songs impart a sense of vitality and richness to the landscape. This beautiful music resonated with Georgians who recommended the species for state bird.
Features on the State Seal
The brown thrasher appears prominently on the state seal of Georgia adopted in 1914. It is pictured perched upon a branch with wings spread and mouth open in song. Below it is a peach tree with ripe fruit near full bloom, representing Georgia’s peach industry. The imagery symbolizes Georgia’s distinctive natural heritage that inspired the later designation of the brown thrasher as state bird.
Other State Birds of the Southeastern U.S.
Here is a summary of the official state birds of other Southeastern states that overlap with the range of the brown thrasher:
| State | State Bird |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Yellowhammer |
| Arkansas | Mockingbird |
| Florida | Mockingbird |
| Louisiana | Brown pelican |
| Mississippi | Mockingbird |
| North Carolina | Cardinal |
| South Carolina | Carolina wren |
| Tennessee | Mockingbird |
The mockingbird is the most prevalent state bird, holding that status in five states. The brown thrasher stands out as the only Southeastern state to adopt the species. This highlights Georgia’s unique ecological heritage that merited designation of the thrasher rather than the mockingbird as a symbol.
Conclusion
The brown thrasher is a characteristic songbird of the southeastern U.S. known for its melodious vocalizations and shy nature as it forages through dense undergrowth. The species was designated the official state bird of Georgia in 1935 based on its strong ties to the state’s natural landscapes and familiarity to its residents. With a range centered in Georgia, active singing behavior and appearance on the state seal, the brown thrasher is an appropriate symbol of the state’s distinctive ecology and culture.
