- Thrasher
Taxobox
name = Thrashers
image_width = 230px
image_caption =Brown Thrasher "Toxostoma rufum"
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Passeriformes
familia =Mimidae
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = "Allenia "
"Margarops "
"Oreoscoptes "
"Ramphocinclus "
"Toxostoma "Thrashers are a New World group of passerine
bird s related tomockingbird s andNew World catbird s. Like these, they are in theMimidae family. There are 15 species in one large and 4monotypic genera.These do not form a
clade but are aphenetic assemblage. It is rather likely than not — though by no means robustly supported — that theSage Thrasher is a basal lineage among a group also consisting ofmockingbird s and "Toxostoma " thrashers. TheCaribbean thrashers occupy varying positions in an assemblage consisting of them, thetrembler s, and theNew World catbird s. Here, theWhite-breasted Thrasher appears to be quite basal though it is impossible to place it anywhere with certainty, whereas thePearly-eyed Thrasher is probably quite close to the tremblers.(Hunt "et al." 2001, Barber "et al." 2004)Their common name describes the behaviour of these birds when searching for food on the ground: they use their long bills to "thrash" through dirt or dead leaves. All of these birds eat
insect s and several species also eat berries.Taxonomic list
Genus "Oreoscoptes"
*Sage Thrasher , "Oreoscoptes montanus"Genus "
Toxostoma " – typical thrashers
*Brown Thrasher , "Toxostoma rufum"
*Long-billed Thrasher , "Toxostoma longirostre"
*Cozumel Thrasher , "Toxostoma guttatum" – possiblyextinct (2006?)
*Gray Thrasher , "Toxostoma cinereum"
*Bendire's Thrasher , "Toxostoma bendirei"
*Ocellated Thrasher , "Toxostoma ocellatum"
*Curve-billed Thrasher , "Toxostoma curvirostre"
*California Thrasher , "Toxostoma redivivum"
*Crissal Thrasher , "Toxostoma crissale"
*Le Conte's Thrasher , "Toxostoma lecontei"
*Vizcaino Thrasher , "Toxostoma arenicola"Genus "Ramphocinclus"
*White-breasted Thrasher , "Ramphocinclus brachyurus"Genus "Allenia" – formerly in "Margarops"
*Scaly-breasted Thrasher , "Allenia fusca"
** Barbados Scaly-breasted Thrasher, "Allenia fusca atlantica" –extinct (c. 1990)Genus "Margarops "
*Pearly-eyed Thrasher , "Margarops fuscatus"References
* Barber, Brian R.; Martínez-Gómez, Juan E. & Peterson, A. Townsend (2004): Systematic position of the Socorro mockingbird "Mimodes graysoni". "J. Avian Biol." 35: 195-198. doi|10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03233.x (HTML abstract)
* Hunt, Jeffrey S.; Bermingham, Eldredge; & Ricklefs, Robert E. (2001): Molecular systematics and biogeography of Antillean thrashers, tremblers, and mockingbirds (Aves: Mimidae). "Auk" 118(1): 35–55. DOI:10.1642/0004-8038(2001)118 [0035:MSABOA] 2.0.CO;2 [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3793/is_200101/ai_n8930531 HTML fulltext without images]
External links
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/familia.phtml?idFamilia=135 Thrasher videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.