Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Curve-billed Thrasher

Toxostoma curvirostre

(Swainson, 1827)

Curve-billed Thrasher

G5Secure Found in 35 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100883
Element CodeABPBK06070
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyMimidae
GenusToxostoma
Other Common Names
Cuitlacoche Pico Curvo (ES) curve-billed thrasher (EN) Moqueur à bec courbe (FR)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
May be comprised of more than one species (Tweit 1996). Mitochondrial DNA analysis by Zink et al. (2001) show a genetic division between populations of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. Monroe and Sibley (1990) suggest that this taxon appears to constitute a superspecies with T. ocellatum, but this hypothesis is not supported by phylogenetic analysis of Zink et al. (1999), who state that "The relationships of T. curvirostre and T. ocellatum are problematic, and the two taxa do not appear to be sister species." Placed in Sturnidae in Sibley and Ahlquist (1984).
Conservation Status
Review Date1996-12-03
Change Date1996-12-03
Range Extent Comments
RESIDENT: northwestern Arizona, northeastern New Mexico, southeastern Colorado, western Oklahoma, southwestern Kansas, and central Texas south to northwestern Nayarit, through Mexican Plateau to central Oaxaca and Veracruz, and central Tamaulipas (Tweit 1996, AOU 1998).
Threat Impact Comments
PREDATION: Suspected predators of eggs, nestlings, and fledglings include striped whipsnakes (MASTICOPHIS TAENIATUS), Texas patchnosed snakes (SALVADORA GRAHAMIAE), western diamondback rattlesnakes (CROTALUS ATROX), and ants (Formicidae). Confirmed nest predators include coachwhips (MASTICOPHIS FLAGELLUM), bullsnakes (PITUOPHIS MELANOLEUCUS), kingsnakes (LAMPROPELTIS GETULA), desert spiny lizards (SCELOPORUS MAGISTER), roadrunners (GEOCCOCYX CALIFORNIANUS), round-tailed ground squirrels (CITELLUS TERETICAUDUS), Harris' antelope ground squirrels (AMMOSPERMOPHILUS HARRIS), and Harris' hawk (PARABUTEO UNICINCTUS; Fischer 1980, Tweit 1996). PARASITISM: Brood parasitism by cowbirds (MOLOTHRUS spp.) is rare (Tweit 1996). HABITAT: Its preferred U.S. habitats, the Texas brushlands and the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, are being lost to development and conversion to grassland monocultures (especially buffel grass, PENNISETUM CITUARE; Tweit 1996).
Ecology & Habitat

Diagnostic Characteristics

See Kaufman and Bowers (1990) for detailed information on identification.

Habitat

Inhabits arid thornscrub, chaparral, cholla (OPUNTIA) grasslands, and other brushy areas (Terres 1991, Tweit 1996). Typical woody vegetation of occupied Texas chaparral includes mesquite (PROSOPIS GLANDULOSA), colima (ZANTHOXYLUM FAGARA), acacia (ACACIA RIGIDULA), agarito (BERBERIS TRIFOLIATA), brasil (CONDALIA HOOKERI), and granjeno (CELTIS PALLIDA; Fischer 1980, 1981). Inhabits creosote bush (LARREA TRIDENTATA) communities, the palo verde-saguaro community, cholla grasslands, and thornscrub in Arizona; cholla grasslands in Colorado and adjacent states; and thornscrub and brushy field edges in Mexico. Also inhabits meadows and fields adjacent to pine (PINUS)-oak (QUERCUS) woodlands in Arizona and New Mexico (Marshall 1957, Phillips et al. 1964, Terres 1991, Tweit 1996). Inhabits cities in Arizona (Bent 1948, Phillips et al. 1964).

Nests in a wide variety of cacti, shrubs and small trees throughout its range. In south Texas, nests are located most often in yucca (YUCCA TRECULEANA), oak (QUERCUS VIRGINIA), and colima (Fischer 1980). Nests in tree cholla (OPUNTIA IMBRICATA) and mesquite in Oklahoma; jumping cholla (O. FULGIDA), soaptree yucca (Y. ELATA), jujube (ZIZIPHUS JUJUBA), mistletoe (PHORADENDRON), LYCIUM, mesquite, and occasionally, in woodpecker holes in saguaro and sycamore (PLANTANUS WRIGHTII) in Arizona; and in cholla cactus, nopalo cactus (O. FICUS-INDICA), acacia (A. GREGGII), prickly pear (OPUNTIA spp.), organ pipe cactus (CEREUS THURBERI), mesquite, and oak in Mexico (Clark 1904; Gilman 1909; Hensley 1959; Tweit 1996; R. Tweit, pers. comm.). Nest height ranges from 0.7-6.0 meters above the ground, but the majority are built 1-2 meters high (Anderson and Anderson 1973, Clark 1904, Gilman 1909, Hensley 1959, Tweit 1996).

Ecology

Population density varies with habitat disturbance. In Arizona, an average of 63 thrashers per square kilometer inhabit undisturbed to moderately disturbed palo verde-saguaro habitat; only 6.5 individuals per square kilometer inhabit disturbed palo verde-saguaro habitat dominated by exotic vegetation (Tweit and Tweit 1986). In south Texas brushland, Emlen (1972) estimated a density of 5-10 thrashers per square kilometer. Abundances for three BBS routes range from an average of 9.3-39 individuals per route (Price et al 1995).

Each pair maintains a permanent, year-round territory. Territory size ranges from 2 hectares in south Texas brushland to 2.5-4.5 hectares in palo verde-saguaro habitat in Arizona (Fischer 1980, Tweit 1996). In south Texas, six pairs renested within 30 meters of where they nested the previous year; two pairs nested within 60 and 75 meters of previous nests; and one remated female nested within 100 meters of her previous nest (Fischer 1980). In Arizona, two males nested in their respective territories annually for six years (Anderson and Anderson 1973).

Oldest, known-age wild bird lived 10 years, 9 months. The recapture of only 6 percent of 345 young banded from one month-one year earlier in Arizona suggests high juvenile mortality and/or dispersal (Tweit 1996). In south Texas, 94 percent of adults survived from one breeding season to the next (Fischer 1980). Average annual survival of adults in Arizona was 79 percent (Anderson and Anderson 1973). The sex ratio approximates unity, but quantitative data are unavailable (Tweit 1996).

Reproduction

Phenology of breeding season is influenced by temperature and timing and amount of rainfall. Although most eggs are laid between March and May in Arizona, egg laying can begin as early as late January (Tweit 1996). The nesting season recorded during a two-year period in southern Texas ranged from 13 April through 20 July (Fischer 1980). Nesting in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas begins in March (Bent 1948). Normally two clutches are produced in south Texas, but up to three can be produced if the first two clutches fail (Fischer 1980). In Arizona, an average of 2.2 (maximum of four) clutches are laid (Anderson and Anderson 1973). Average clutch size is 3.8 eggs (range = 3-5) in south Texas; 2.8 eggs (range = 2-4) in Sonora, Mexico; and 3.2, 2.5, and 2.7 eggs for three studies in Arizona (Fischer 1980, Tweit 1996). Larger average clutch size in Texas may correlate with a more reliable food supply (R. Tweit, pers. comm.).

Incubation is initiated before all eggs are laid. Both sexes incubate the eggs an average of 14 days (range = 12-15), but females incubate for longer periods than males (Fischer 1980, Hensley 1959). Hatching success varies from 54.5 percent-71 percent across the range (Tweit 1996). Nesting success is 44 percent in south Texas, with predation accounting for 40 percent of the loss of eggs/young. Nests constructed in yucca are significantly more successful than those placed in other vegetation, and shaded nests are more successful than unshaded nests (Fischer 1980, Tweit 1996).

In Arizona, nesting success ranges from 21-44.5 percent (Anderson and Anderson 1973, Edwards and Stacy 1968 cited in Tweit 1996). Parent birds preferentially feed larger, older nestlings during food shortages resulting in brood reduction by starvation of younger nestlings (Ricklefs 1965). Both sexes feed the young (Fischer 1980, Hensley 1959). Sexually matures in one year (Tweit 1996).
Terrestrial Habitats
Shrubland/chaparralDesert
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
New MexicoS5B,S5NYes
ArizonaS5Yes
TexasS4BYes
NevadaS3Yes
ColoradoS3Yes
KansasS1BYes
OklahomaS3Yes
Roadless Areas (35)
Arizona (20)
AreaForestAcres
Arnold MesaPrescott National Forest12,286
Black CanyonPrescott National Forest10,683
Black CrossTonto National Forest5,966
BoulderTonto National Forest40,359
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
Catalina St. Pk. Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest951
ChiricahuaCoronado National Forest76,876
GaliuroCoronado National Forest28,333
GoldfieldTonto National Forest15,257
Horse MesaTonto National Forest9,146
Lime CreekTonto National Forest42,568
Lower San FranciscoApache-Sitgreaves National Forests59,310
MazatzalTonto National Forest16,942
Middle Romero WSRCoronado National Forest60
Oracle RoadlessCoronado National Forest22,365
PinalenoCoronado National Forest130,920
Santa TeresaCoronado National Forest8,929
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
Upper Romero WsrCoronado National Forest150
WhetstoneCoronado National Forest20,728
New Mexico (14)
AreaForestAcres
Black CanyonSanta Fe National Forest1,922
Contiguous To Gila Wilderness & Primitive AreaGila National Forest79,049
El InviernoSanta Fe National Forest29,927
Juan de Gabaldon GrantSanta Fe National Forest8,023
LemitasSanta Fe National Forest8,129
Meadow CreekGila National Forest34,167
Nichols ReservoirSanta Fe National Forest1,518
Ortega PeakLincoln National Forest11,545
Pacheco CanyonSanta Fe National Forest1,012
Peloncillo (NM)Coronado National Forest43,339
Sierra Negra Rare II Study AreaCarson National Forest9,470
South Guadalupe MountainsLincoln National Forest20,930
Thompson PeakSanta Fe National Forest33,001
West Face Sacramento MountainsLincoln National Forest41,176
South Dakota (1)
AreaForestAcres
Indian CreekBuffalo Gap National Grassland24,666
References (43)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Anderson, A. H., and A. Anderson. 1973. The cactus wren. Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson. xiv + 226 pp.
  4. Balda, R. P., and G. C. Bateman. 1971. Flocking and annual cycle of the piñon jay, <i>Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus</i>. Condor 73:287-302.
  5. Bent, A.C. 1948. Life histories of North American nuthatches, wrens, thrashers, and their allies. U.S. National Museum Bulletin 195. Washington, DC.
  6. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  7. Carter, M., C. Hunter, D. Pashley, and D. Petit. 1998. The Watch List. Bird Conservation, Summer 1998:10.
  8. Carter, M., G. Fenwick, C. Hunter, D. Pashley, D. Petit, J. Price, and J. Trapp. 1996. Watchlist 1996: For the future. Field Notes 50(3):238-240.
  9. Clark, J. H. 1904. Curve-billed and Palmer's thrashers. Auk 21:214-217.
  10. Edwards, P., and D. Stacy. 1968. The development of nestling curve-billed thrashers. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology report, University of Arizona, Tucson.
  11. Emlen, J. T. 1972. Size and structure of a wintering avian community in southern Texas. Ecology 53:317-329.
  12. Fischer, D. H. 1980c. Breeding biology of curve-billed thrashers and long-billed thrashers in southern Texas. Condor 82:392-397.
  13. Fischer, D. H. 1981. Wintering ecology of thrashers in southern Texas. Condor 83:340-346.
  14. Fischer, D. H. 1983. Growth, development, and food habits of nestling mimids in south Texas. Wilson Bulletin 95:97-105.
  15. Gilman, M. F. 1909. Among the thrashers in Arizona. Condor 11:49-54.
  16. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  17. Harrison, H. H. 1979. A field guide to western birds' nests. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 279 pp.
  18. Hensley, M. M. 1959. Notes on the nesting of selected species of birds of the Sonoran Desert. Wilson Bulletin 71:86-92.
  19. Horn, H. S. 1968. The adaptive significance of colonial nesting in the Brewer's Blackbird. Ecology 49:682-694.
  20. Kaufman, K., and R. Bowers. 1990. The practiced eye: Curve-billed Thrasher and Bendire's Thrasher. American Birds 44(3):359-362.
  21. Ligon, J. D. 1971. Late summer-autumnal breeding of the piñon jay in New Mexico. Condor 73:147-153.
  22. Marshall, J. T., Jr. 1957. Birds of pine-oak woodland in southern Arizona and adjacent Mexico. Pacific Coast Avifauna. No. 32. 125 pp.
  23. Martin, A.C., H.S. Zim, and A.L. Nelson. 1951. American wildlife and plants: A guide to wildlife food habits. Dover Publications, Inc., New York, NY. 500 pp.
  24. Moore, W. S., and R. A. Dolbeer. 1989. The use of banding recovery data to estimate dispersal rates and gene flow in avian species: case studies in the Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle. Condor 91:242-253.
  25. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  26. Phillips, A., J. Marshall, and G. Monson. 1964. The birds of Arizona. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
  27. Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
  28. Price, J., S. Droege, and A. Price. 1995. The summer atlas of North American birds. Academic Press, New York. x + 364 pp.
  29. Ricklefs, R. E. 1965. Brood reduction in the curve-billed thrasher. Condor 67:505-510.
  30. Sauer, J.R., J.E. Hines, G. Gough, I. Thomas, and B.G. Peterjohn. 1997a. The North American Breeding Bird Survey Results and Analysis. Version 96.3. Online. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. Available: http://www.mbr.nbs.gov/bbs/bbs.html.
  31. Sauer, J.R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1 U.S.G.S. Biological Resource Division, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. Online. Available: http://www.mbr.nbs.gov/bbs/cbc.html.
  32. Sibley, C.G., and B.L. Monroe, Jr. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. xxiv + 1111 pp.
  33. Sibley, C.G., and J.E. Ahlquist. 1984. The relationships of the starlings (Sturnidae: Sturnini) and the mockingbirds (Sturnidae: Mimini). Auk 101:230-243.
  34. Tarvin, K. A., and G. E. Woolfenden. 1999. Blue Jay (<i>Cyanocitta cristata</i>). No. 469 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  35. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  36. Terres, J.K. 1991. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  37. Thompson, F. R., III. 1994. Temporal and spatial patterns of breeding brown-headed cowbirds in the midwestern United States. Auk 111:979-990.
  38. Tweit, R.C. 1996. Curve-billed Thrasher (TOXOSTOMA CURVIROSTRE). In A. Poole and F. Gill, editors, The Birds of North America, No. 235. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC. 20 pp.
  39. Tweit, R. C., and J. C. Tweit. 1986. Urban development effects on the abundance of some common resident birds of the Tucson area of Arizona. American Birds 40:431-436.
  40. Williams, L. 1952b. Breeding behavior of the Brewer blackbird. Condor 54:3-47.
  41. Willson, M. F. 1966. Breeding ecology of the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Ecological Monographs 36:51-77.
  42. Zink, R. M., D. L. Dittmann, J. Klicka, and R. C. Blackwell-Rago. 1999. Evolutionary patterns of morphometrics, allozymes, and mitochondrial DNA in thrashers (Genus TOXOSTOMA). Auk 116:1021-1038.
  43. Zink, R. M., E. Kessen, T. V. Line, and R. C. Blackwell-Rago. 2001. Comparative phylogeography of some aridland bird species. Condor 103: 1031-10.