The distinctive brown of “Toxostoma rufum”, otherwise known as the brown thrasher, flashed by in front of the mower. This is one of my favorite birds, and I have been looking for it out here at Vicky’s all summer. Turns out it changed addresses.
I’ve mowed Vicky’s yard for about 10 years, and every year the thrasher nested in the lilac bushes along the shed. Not this year. This year the nest is in a decorative shrub next to the house.
I like this bird for two reasons. First, I was not very familiar with it until I went to work for my father-inlaw on the ranch in Custer County. They were everywhere. They are out at Chadron where I grew up, but they are much rarer in the Panhandle than here in Central Nebraska. Secondly, they are quite the singers. Thrashers are members of the Mimidae family o…