Curve-billed Thrasher: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Birds of North America · day 6 of 7

Five facts

1. Its sharp whit-wheet call sounds just like a person whistling to get your attention.
2. It knows so many tunes that in Mexico it is called cuicacoche, or songbird. It can even copy birds such as the northern cardinal.
3. It sips nectar from saguaro cactus flowers and pollinates them as it feeds. Later, the saguaro fruit gives it water in dry months.
4. It feeds mostly on the ground. Besides picking food off the surface, it digs holes in the soil to hunt for beetles, snails and other small prey.
5. Its favourite nest site is the spiny cholla cactus, which it shares with the cactus wren. One pair of nests was just 15 cm apart.

The quiz

1. What does the curve-billed thrasher's whit-wheet call sound like?

• A dog barking
• A person whistling for attention (correct)
• A door creaking
• Water dripping

The call sounds like someone whistling to get your attention.

2. What is this thrasher called in Mexico?

• Correcaminos
• Pájaro loco
• Cuicacoche (correct)
• Colibrí

Its many songs earned it the name cuicacoche, meaning songbird.

3. How does the thrasher help saguaro cactus flowers?

• It waters them
• It pollinates them while sipping nectar (correct)
• It removes their spines
• It shades them with its wings

Sipping nectar from the blossoms makes it a pollinator.

4. Besides picking up food from the surface, how does the thrasher find food?

• It digs holes in the ground (correct)
• It dives into ponds
• It hangs upside down from high branches
• It catches bats at night

As a ground feeder, it also digs holes to search for food.

5. Which bird often nests in the same cholla cactus as the thrasher?

• The bald eagle
• The barn owl
• The flamingo
• The cactus wren (correct)

Thrashers and cactus wrens share a range and a favourite nest cactus.

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