Now Singing on Almost Every Corner – Brown Thrashers
Brown Thrashers began to sing, as usual, in mid February here. I heard the first one February 14 and others soon after that. For a couple of weeks, they all sat not in the tops of trees, but down a couple of feet, screened by the branches, and they sang rather softly, somewhat muted, as if warming up. But yesterday and today several have been up in the very tops of the trees, singing freely, each in a favorite perch overlooking the territory he claims.
One Brown Thrasher sings from the top of a tall, dying Leyland cypress not far from our house; another down the road in the top of a pine in a thicket; one in a tulip poplar near the summit of a wooded hill; another in a scrubby stand of water oaks along the roadside; one sings from the top of a pecan tree on the edge of an open yard; and another usually sings from a chinaberry tree almost smothered in privet and dead kudzu vines in the old field.
Although they’re year-round residents here, Brown Thrashers stay mostly hidden and quiet through the winter months, venturing out to feed on the ground, and diving into thickets or bushes at the slightest disturbance. But come late winter and early spring, they’re up and out in the tops of the tallest trees.
The song of a Brown Thrasher is not as virtuosic a performance as that of a Mockingbird, not so fluid and or delivered with such flair, though both mimic the songs of other birds. While a Mockingbird sings with its body almost as much as with its voice – it acts – it may flick its wings, raise and lower its tail, move around, look around, and even fly from spot to spot while still singing – a Brown Thrasher perches rather stiffly in one spot in a treetop, tail held down and head up, wings quiet, and sings from right there – a series of paired musical phrases that include its own musical notes as well as the mimicked songs of other birds. It’s known for having one of the largest repertoires of any songbird, sometimes more than 1,000 different song types.
A Brown Thrasher is a particularly handsome bird – large, slender, a rich red-brown back, wings and long tail, and boldly dark-streaked breast. Its bill is long and down-curved, and its eye a brilliant yellow. Overall, its appearance can be arrogant and fierce – though its behavior is often very shy and nervous. If I seem to be saying that it’s not as impressive as a Mockingbird, that’s not true. It’s just that they’re different. The flashy, sassy, extroverted Mockingbird – and the more reserved, deliberate and introverted Thrasher. Each has its place in the landscape, and if anything, it’s the Thrasher I find more intriguing, with more than a hint of mystery, complexity and paradox in its ways.