Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Brown Thrasher
Scientific name:	Toxostoma rufum
Date:	8/29/2025
Time:	8:20 am
Length of time observed:	10 minutes
Number:	1
Age:	unknown
Sex:	unknown
Location:	Lateral Canal Road, West Mountain
County:	Utah
Latilong:	40.093173, -111.80106
Elevation:	4,705 ft.
Distance to bird:	15 to 20 feet
Optical equipment:	12x42 binoculars with an adapter and phone
Weather:	cloudy, calm
Light Conditions:	overcast
Description: Size of bird:	14 inches
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Long tail, slender bird, slightly decurved bill.
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	Rufous upperparts and white underparts
(Description:) Bill Type:	Long decurved bill
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	Rufous tail, back of wings, nape, back, and crown. White undertail coverts, belly and white chest. Gray face. Yellow eye. Gray, long slightly decurved bill (Photos)
Song or call & method of delivery:	Short croaks falling in pitch and loudest at start. Brown Thrasher giving 1 call per second for about a 2 minutes. Calls match Brown Thrasher calls on the Merlin app: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkxDUwzR6T4
Behavior:	It flew low to the ground. It usually stayed out of sight in a dense bush.
Habitat:	Migrant Trap. Brown Thrasher observed: North edge of a Siberian elm and Russian olive grove surrounding a muddy depression on the east facing slope of West Mountain. To the north: a puddle of water flowing east from the canal, a small hackberry, and a big dry meadow. Area habitat: open woods and bushes surrounded by a grasslands and orchards.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Wood Thrush has a shorter tail. Hermit Thrush is more gray. The bright rufous color is different from other thrashers. I couldn't distinguish it from the Long Billed Thrasher but that is much more rare. At the time I did not consider Long Billed but they are very similar. Brown Thrasher seems more likely.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	This was my first Brown Thrasher. I have seen Curve Billed Thrashers in Arizona with similar moving style but less secretive. Same with Gray Catbirds.
References consulted:	Merlin App and Sibley Birds West book.
Description from:	From memory From photo(s) taken at the time of the sighting
Observer:	Christian Hopkins
Observer's address:	1509 E 900 S Springville, Utah 84663
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	KC Childs, Asher Lee, Esther Sumner, and McKay Olson
Date prepared:	9/2/2025
Additional material:	Photos; Audio
Additional comments:	There were so many migrants in the small area that day. When first seen very briefly, Brown Thrasher was my first thought. First identified as a Brown Thrasher as it flew behind a small Hackberry which held a Western Tanager and a Chipping Sparrow. Seen again when a Western Tanager chased it west into a dense Russian Olive. It responded to playback by calling. It hid in the middle of that Russian Olive for a long time. Got a poor view of it deep in the branches wagging its tail and tried in vain to get a good video. It was hard not to take my eyes off the Russian Olive as many other birds were visible in surrounding trees. I lost track of it soon after I got the video. Later in the day, I heard it briefly in the same area but did not see it again. I later saw that there has only been two other Brown Thrashers Reported in Utah County on Ebird. This is a really rare bird.