Family: Mimidae, Mockingbirds and Thrashers view all from this family

Description 11-13" (28-33 cm). A large slender thrasher with a long, deeply curved bill. Dark brown above, with lighter gray-brown breast; buff-brown undertail coverts. Dark brown eyes; indistinct light brown eyebrow and dark "mustache."

Habitat Chaparral, foothills, dense shrubs in parks or gardens.

Nesting 2-4 pale blue-green, speckled eggs in a bowl-shaped nest of sticks and roots lined with finer materials and placed in a shrub.

Range Resident in California west of Sierra Nevada.

Voice   Song recalls that of a Northern Mockingbird, but harsher, more halting, and less repetitious. An expert mimic. Call a low harsh chuck and a throaty quip.

Discussion The California Thrasher feeds on the ground under the shelter of bushes, using its heavy curved bill to turn over leaf litter in search of food. Its wings are shorter than those of the desert thrashers and it often escapes by scurrying rather than flying.