Crissal Thrasher, Toxostoma crissale

Crissal Thrasher, Toxostoma crissale. Photograph taken within a residential community in Hereford, Arizona, November 2020. Photograph and identification courtesy of Karen La May, Sierra Vista, Arizona (naturewideimages.com).

Background and Identification

The Crissal Thrasher, Toxostoma crissale, is a member of the Mimidae Family of mockingbirds, catbirds, and thrashers. Although widely distributed, the Crissal Thrasher remains poorly known, partly due to its hidden habitat preferences. In Mexico, they are known as Cuitlacoche Culirrojo.

This bird has a dull brownish-gray plumage, a pale throat, and a darker tail. Its most notable feature is the rich cinnamon-colored undertail coverts, which give the species its name. The Crissal Thrasher has long legs and a slender, slightly curved bill used to forage in the ground for insects and seeds.

Habitat and Geographical Range

The Crissal Thrasher is often found in remote, dense thickets, making it difficult to spot. It inhabits arid desert scrub, thorny mesquite, and riparian habitats, favoring dense vegetation where it can remain hidden. This species prefers piñon-oak and juniper woodlands with a shrubby understory in the southeast United States.

Geographically, the Crissal Thrasher is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Its range extends from southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas to north Mexico, particularly the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. This species is sedentary, and banding records show that individuals rarely venture more than a mile from their original capture location.

Common Misidentifications

The Crissal Thrasher can be mistaken for the Curve-billed Thrasher, Toxostoma curvirostre, which shares a similar habitat and appearance, however, the Curve-billed Thrasher lacks the distinctive cinnamon undertail coverts characteristic of the Crissal Thrasher.

Conservation Status

From a conservation perspective, the Crissal Thrasher is currently considered to be of Least Concern, with stable, widely distributed populations, however, its riparian habitats face many localized threats from habitat destruction and land fragmentation.