Thrasher
Encyclopedia
Thrashers are a New World group of passerine bird
s related to mockingbird
s and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the Mimidae family
. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic
genera
.
These do not form a clade
but are a phenetic assemblage. It is rather likely than not — though by no means robustly supported — that the Sage Thrasher
is a basal
lineage among a group also consisting of mockingbird
s and Toxostoma
thrashers. The Caribbean
thrashers occupy varying positions in an assemblage consisting of them, the trembler
s, and the New World catbirds. Here, the White-breasted Thrasher
appears to be quite basal though it is impossible to place it anywhere with certainty, whereas the Pearly-eyed Thrasher
is probably quite close to the tremblers.(Hunt et al. 2001, Barber et al. 2004)
Their common name describes the behaviour of these birds when searching for food on the ground: they use their long bills to "thrash" through dirt or dead leaves. All of these birds eat insect
s and several species also eat berries.
Genus Toxostoma
– typical thrashers
Genus Ramphocinclus
Genus Allenia – formerly in Margarops
Genus Margarops
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s related to mockingbird
Mockingbird
Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the Mimidae family. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly and in rapid succession. There are about 17 species in three genera...
s and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the Mimidae family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
.
These do not form a clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
but are a phenetic assemblage. It is rather likely than not — though by no means robustly supported — that the Sage Thrasher
Sage Thrasher
The Sage Thrasher is a medium-sized passerine bird from the family Mimidae, which also includes mockingbirds, tremblers and New World catbirds. It is the only member of the genus Oreoscoptes. This seems less close to the Caribbean thrashers, but rather to the mockingbirds instead .O...
is a basal
Basal (phylogenetics)
In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...
lineage among a group also consisting of mockingbird
Mockingbird
Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the Mimidae family. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly and in rapid succession. There are about 17 species in three genera...
s and Toxostoma
Toxostoma
Toxostoma is a genus of bird in the Mimidae family. All members of this genus are called thrashers but there are other birds in the Mimidae family also bearing this title...
thrashers. The Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
thrashers occupy varying positions in an assemblage consisting of them, the trembler
Trembler
Tremblers are a New World group of passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the Mimidae family. There are 2-4 species in one genus, Cinclocerthia:...
s, and the New World catbirds. Here, the White-breasted Thrasher
White-breasted Thrasher
The White-breasted Thrasher is a species of bird in the Mimidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Ramphocinclus.It is found in Martinique and Saint Lucia....
appears to be quite basal though it is impossible to place it anywhere with certainty, whereas the Pearly-eyed Thrasher
Pearly-eyed Thrasher
The Pearly-eyed Thrasher is a bird found in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas and Antilles. Its genus, Margarops, is considered monotypic today; formerly the Scaly-breasted Thrasher was placed here too...
is probably quite close to the tremblers.(Hunt et al. 2001, Barber et al. 2004)
Their common name describes the behaviour of these birds when searching for food on the ground: they use their long bills to "thrash" through dirt or dead leaves. All of these birds eat insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and several species also eat berries.
Taxonomic list
Genus Oreoscoptes- Sage ThrasherSage ThrasherThe Sage Thrasher is a medium-sized passerine bird from the family Mimidae, which also includes mockingbirds, tremblers and New World catbirds. It is the only member of the genus Oreoscoptes. This seems less close to the Caribbean thrashers, but rather to the mockingbirds instead .O...
, Oreoscoptes montanus
Genus Toxostoma
Toxostoma
Toxostoma is a genus of bird in the Mimidae family. All members of this genus are called thrashers but there are other birds in the Mimidae family also bearing this title...
– typical thrashers
- Brown ThrasherBrown ThrasherThe Brown Thrasher , sometimes erroneously called the Brown Thrush, is a bird in the Mimidae family, a group that also includes the New World catbirds and mockingbirds.-Description:...
, Toxostoma rufum - Long-billed ThrasherLong-billed ThrasherThe Long-billed Thrasher is a medium-sized resident songbird of South Texas and eastern Mexico.It is slender and long-tailed, averaging 26.5–29 cm in length and about 70 g in weight...
, Toxostoma longirostre - Cozumel ThrasherCozumel ThrasherThe Cozumel Thrasher, Toxostoma guttatum, is a bird from the mockingbird family , which is endemic to the island of Cozumel off the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico...
, Toxostoma guttatum – possibly extinct (2006?) - Gray ThrasherGray ThrasherThe Gray Thrasher is a medium-sized passerine bird belonging to the family Mimidae like the other thrashers. It is endemic to the Baja California peninsula in Mexico where it occurs from the tip of the peninsula north to 31°N on the west coast and 29°N on the east coast. It inhabits desert...
, Toxostoma cinereum - Bendire's ThrasherBendire's ThrasherBendire's Thrasher a perching bird native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, is a medium-sized species of thrasher.-General information:...
, Toxostoma bendirei - Ocellated ThrasherOcellated ThrasherThe Ocellated Thrasher is a species of bird in the Mimidae family. It is endemic to the highlands of south-central Mexico. Its natural habitats are dry scrubland and open oak and pine woodland between 1500 and 3000 m above sea-level.It is about 30 cm long. Its upperparts are brown while...
, Toxostoma ocellatum - Curve-billed ThrasherCurve-billed ThrasherThe Curve-billed Thrasher is a perching bird of the thrasher group native to the southwestern United States and much of Mexico....
, Toxostoma curvirostre - California ThrasherCalifornia ThrasherThe California Thrasher is a large thrasher found primarily in chaparral habitat in California and Baja California. Similar to the Crissal and Le Conte's Thrashers in habit, the California Thrasher is the only species of Toxostoma throughout most of its limited range...
, Toxostoma redivivum - Crissal ThrasherCrissal ThrasherThe Crissal Thrasher is a large thrasher found in the Southwestern United States to central Mexico....
, Toxostoma crissale - Le Conte's ThrasherLe Conte's ThrasherThe Le Conte's Thrasher is a pale bird found in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It prefers to live in deserts with very little vegetation, where it blends in with the sandy soils...
, Toxostoma lecontei - Vizcaino Thrasher, Toxostoma arenicola
Genus Ramphocinclus
- White-breasted ThrasherWhite-breasted ThrasherThe White-breasted Thrasher is a species of bird in the Mimidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Ramphocinclus.It is found in Martinique and Saint Lucia....
, Ramphocinclus brachyurus
Genus Allenia – formerly in Margarops
- Scaly-breasted ThrasherScaly-breasted ThrasherThe Scaly-breasted Thrasher is a species of bird in the Mimidae family found in the Caribbean Lesser Antilles. It was formerly united with the Pearly-eyed Thrasher in Margarops but now is again placed in the monotypic genus Allenia.It is found in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada,...
, Allenia fusca- Barbados Scaly-breasted Thrasher, Allenia fusca atlantica – extinct (c. 1990)
Genus Margarops
- Pearly-eyed ThrasherPearly-eyed ThrasherThe Pearly-eyed Thrasher is a bird found in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas and Antilles. Its genus, Margarops, is considered monotypic today; formerly the Scaly-breasted Thrasher was placed here too...
, Margarops fuscatus
External links
- Thrasher videos on the Internet Bird Collection