Brown Thrasher
(Toxostoma rufum)

Overview

Summary

© Dan Busby
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The Brown Thrasher is a conspicuous inhabitant of shrubby edges, deciduous forest edges and clearings along the southern edge of Canada. The Breeding Bird Survey suggests a moderate decrease in numbers since about 1970. Habitat loss and degradation are thought to be the most important causes of its decline (Cavitt et Haas 2000). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

The Brown Thrasher's decline, as with many shrub-dependent species, is thought to be due to habitat loss and degradation. More specifically, succession and maturation of shrubs and thickets in eastern forests, and the loss of woody roadsides, shelterbelts and hedgerows as a result of changes in land use and increased mechanization of agriculture in the western part of its range, have reduced the quality of available habitat (Cavitt et Haas 2000). Development and urbanization have also caused fragmentation and the loss of suitable breeding and wintering habitat throughout its range (Cavitt et Haas 2000).

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Cavitt, J.F. and C.A. Haas. 2000. Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Cavitt, J.F. and C.A. Haas. 2000. Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)