Crissal Thrasher

The Crissal Thrasher is one of the most secretive members of its family, spending most of its time skulking low within dense mesquite thickets and riparian scrub of the southwestern deserts. Its name refers to the chestnut-colored patch of feathers under the tail, called the crissum, which is the bird's most distinctive field mark.

Overall the plumage is a uniform gray-brown, with unmarked underparts (unlike Curve-billed or Bendire's Thrashers, which show breast spotting), a dark malar stripe, and a very long, strongly downcurved bill.

Key field marks

• Uniform gray-brown upperparts and unstreaked underparts
• Chestnut (reddish-brown) undertail coverts (the "crissum")
• Long, strongly downcurved bill
• Dark malar stripe
• Dark eyes

Similar species

California Thrasher is similarly unstreaked but occurs in coastal chaparral rather than desert wash habitat and lacks the reddish undertail patch. Curve-billed and Bendire's Thrashers both show breast spotting that Crissal lacks entirely, making the plain underparts combined with the chestnut crissum diagnostic.

Habitat

Crissal Thrashers favor dense, thorny riparian scrub, mesquite bosques, and desert wash vegetation, requiring thick cover to remain hidden.

Range

The species occurs across the desert Southwest, including Arizona, New Mexico, southern Nevada, southeastern California, and west Texas, extending into northern Mexico.

Migration

Crissal Thrashers are non-migratory residents, remaining within their dense scrub territories throughout the year.

Behavior

Crissal Thrashers are extremely secretive, foraging low within dense vegetation and rarely venturing into the open, using their long bills to probe soil and leaf litter for insects and other invertebrates, and also eating berries.

Voice

The song is a rich, varied series of musical phrases, often repeated in pairs or triplets, delivered occasionally from a slightly more exposed perch; the call is a distinctive, liquid "chideery" or similar phrase.

Nesting

Nests are built low and well hidden within dense thorny shrubs or mesquite, constructed as a bulky cup. Females lay 2-3 pale blue-green eggs.