Crissal Thrasher - Bosque del Apache NWR - Jan. 2018
/On a recent visit to the Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico, I spotted a Crissal Thrasher as it emerged, ever so briefly, from the thickets surrounding the parking areas at the visitor information center. This was a "lifer" (first sighting) for me. I was walking through the brushy areas with D500, 500mm f/4 lens and 1.4x teleconverter in my hand looking for Gambel's Quail that are often seen here. When the thrasher made a dash from beneath one shrub to another, I snapped two frames. Amazingly, all of the bird was in both frames and both were in focus.
The Crissal Thrasher is found in the Southwestern U.S. and down to central Mexico. Two quotes from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website explain my excitement about getting this shot of the bird. I highlighted two phrases in the quotes and added a definition of crissum. Also, note that the light iris of the bird is a key feature for identification.
"Although widely distributed from southeastern California and southwestern Utah to central Mexico, the Crissal Thrasher remains poorly known, and the dearth of comprehensive data on the species seems attributable to two of the bird's notable characteristics: first, its preference over much of the U.S. range for dense, brushy habitats, which in desert landscapes are generally infrequent, patchily distributed, and often narrowly restricted to larger arroyos (dry washes) or mesquite (Prosopis spp.) thickets; and second, its decidedly reclusive habits."
"On closer observation, its plain appearance is offset by a long, sickle-shaped bill, occasional glimpses when the tail is raised of its strikingly reddish cinnamon crissum*, and buoyant, energetic, and entertaining foraging behavior as it explores with active, probing bill and long, sturdy legs the potential arthropod prey beneath a dense shrub."
*crissum - the area between its tail and vent (the external opening through which fecal matter and uric acid is excreted).
Click on the image for a larger view.
Crissal Thrasher - Bosque del Apache NWR - Jan. 2018