Fun Long-billed Thrasher Facts For Kids

Do you know any birds that are known for thrashing their wings around? Long-billed thrashers are one such bird species. They are one of the 15 different thrasher bird species. They are medium-sized brown birds with white undergrowth (underparts), and they have a melodious voice.

This Texas bird loves to sing a song. The long-billed thrasher song, which they also use to communicate with each other. They are of the Mimidae family. They are also part of the order Passeriformes family.

They find their habitats in woodland in Mexico, south Texas, and Kentucky. They prefer many areas with rich brushy lands and woods. They are of Least Concern regarding their conservation status.

For more relatable content, check out these savannah sparrow facts and eastern kingbird facts for kids.

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Long-Billed Thrasher Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a long-billed thrasher?

A long-billed thrasher (Toxostoma longirostre) is a kind of bird.

What class of animal does a long-billed thrasher belong to?

A long-billed thrasher (Toxostoma longirostre) belongs to the class Aves.

How many long-billed thrashers are there in the world?

It is said that there are around 280,000 long-billed thrashers in the world.

Where does a long-billed thrasher live?

The long-billed thrashers (Toxostoma longirostre) prefer habitats in the rich and brushy woodland. In this habitat, they can find plenty of vegetation to seek shelter and food to eat. However, like brown thrashers, they like to remain close to the ground, and they forage for small insects like moths, snails, and grasshoppers, as well as nuts and berries.

What is a long-billed thrasher’s habitat?

Long-billed thrasher loves to have habitat in wildlife around many areas with rich brush and dense thickets in woodland. They are commonly found in habitats around the brush areas of southern Texas.

They have also been mingled into urban habitats where there is an abundance of brushes and leaves to seek shelter. The majority of the long-billed thrashers have breeding grounds in the lower Rio Grande Valley in North America.

During winter, the brown thrashers move to south Texas as well. So during winter, the long-billed thrashers and brown thrashers remain in separate territories.

Who do long-billed thrashers live with?

Long-billed thrashers from south Texas (U.S) are brown birds that prefer to live in solitary. They enjoy hiding in the brushes and singing from dense perched branches.

How long does a long-billed thrasher live?

The longest ever lifespan recorded of the long-billed thrasher (Toxostoma longirostre) was seven years and three months.

How do they reproduce?

Not much is studied about the long-billed thrasher breeding, but the south Texas birds have similar species behavior to the brown thrashers. In this similar species of brown thrasher, the female crouches and sings songs softly to attract an adult thrasher male for breeding in winter.

Long-billed thrasher female calls males by offering a nesting material to a male and raising its bills. The long-billed thrasher lays two to five eggs.

The eggs are incubated by both the parents for around 15 days, after which their parents feed them until the young bird can leave the nests. They produce approximately two broods per year.

What is their conservation status?

Long-billed thrashers (Toxostoma longirostre) are not under any threat of extinction. Therefore, they are considered as of Least Concern by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

Long-Billed Thrasher Fun Facts

What do long-billed thrashers look like?

Long-billed thrashers are North American songbirds. They are also part of the order Passeriformes family. They are medium-sized brown birds.

They have gray-brown upperparts and white underparts which look like bars. The white underparts look fluffy. The undergrowth looks spotty. Their chin and throat are white as well.

The head joins down to a relatively narrow nape, which eventually joins the black looking back. Their unique feature of having a long bill is where the bird gets its name from! So we can see a long, black bill which is curved slightly downwards.

They look very similar to brown thrashers, and their behavior is compared. They have a wingspan of 12.9in (33cm). In wildlife, their bill helps to forage on the ground for food between dense leaf litter. They also have bright orange eyes. The male and female species of the birds look the same.

How cute are they?

Long-bill thrashers look adorable. They are small brown North American birds who love to stay near the ground like humans. They also sing songs and calls to other birds, which adds to their attractiveness.

How do they communicate?

The exact way of large-billed thrashers communication is not available. But they mainly vocalize for communications. Long-billed thrasher call with their delicate voice and sings songs to give messages to fellow birds. Their call is described as a 'churr' or 'puck' sound. The males will often vocalize louder than the females.

How big is a long-billed thrasher?

The bird is 26.5–29 cm (10.5–11.5 in) long in range. So they are almost robin-sized.

How fast can a long-billed thrasher fly?

Long-billed thrashers can fly fast with shallow wing movements. The bird has a wingspan of 12.9 in (33cm).

But most of the time, they remain close to the ground. Hence, their flights are also of short duration. The exact speed of the bird is not studied, but it is said that while foraging in dense leaf litter on the ground, a similar bird called a brown thrasher moves at a speed of 2.7 mph (7.1 kph).

How much does a long-billed thrasher weigh?

The Texas bird weighs an average of 70 g (2.5 oz).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There is no separate name for the different genders of the species. They are referred to as female long-billed thrashers or male long-billed thrashers.

What would you call a baby long-billed thrasher?

The baby thrasher is called a hatchling after it has hatched from the egg.

What do they eat?

They have bills that help them forage on the ground by digging holes to find insects to eat; such are scorpions, snails, bugs, lizards, etc. They also use their bill to overturn leaves on the ground to find any berries to eat. A similar species, the curved billed thrasher, also eats lizards.

Are they poisonous?

These birds are not poisonous at all!

Would they make a good pet?

The bird commonly found in the Lower Rio Grande Valley might not make a very good or happy pet in your backyard. This is because it is a wild bird and thrives by living in its natural habitat in dense brush and woodlands.

Though, if you live in northern Mexico or Texas, you may see them flying around searching for food near their habitats.

Did you know...

The U.S bird looks very similar to the brown thrasher from eastern America. It symbolizes stability, harmony as well as balance, and inclusivity.

What is unique about a long-billed thrasher?

The unique and distinguishing feature of the bird species is its bill! The long bill from which it gets its name helps the bird to find food between leaf litter. Their song singing ability also makes them very unique.

What is the difference between a long-billed thrasher and a brown thrasher?

The long-billed thrasher bird species and brown thrasher bird species are similar. But the long-billed thrasher is grayer and has a longer bill. They also have different eyes.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other arthropods from our Amazon parrot facts and brant facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Long billed thrasher coloring pages.