It’s the least you can do. During migration and the nonbreeding season, Sage Thrashers can form impressive flocks numbering in the hundreds, suggesting some level of sociality away from breeding territories.Back to top, Sage Thrashers are numerous but their populations declined by almost 1.5% per year between 1966 and 2014, resulting in a cumulative decline of 52%, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Use Audubon’s Birds and Climate Visualizer to see how climate change will impact the birds in your community, and find out how you can help. Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from February 2017. (2014). Somewhat irregular in its migrations and its wintering range, perhaps concentrating where there are good wild crops of berries. Sage Thrashers become especially shy during breeding, and prefer running secretively, tail cocked upward, rather than taking flight. In Washington, the tyrant flycatchers are the only suboscines; the remaining 27 families are oscines. If you find the information on BirdWeb useful, please consider supporting Seattle Audubon. Range map provided by BirdLife International Spread the word. Smaller and shorter-billed than most thrashers, it may suggest a washed-out robin. Well known for their elaborate vocalizations and mimicry abilities, they often sing repeated phrases within their extended songs. (Updated 2017/06/14) Top US Department of Interior, Washington, DC, USA. Sagebrush, brushy slopes, mesas; in winter, also deserts. Sage Thrashers breed in shrub-steppe environments dominated by sagebrush. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too. Sage Thrashers spend much of their time on the ground, and, when disturbed, often run with tails cocked up, rather than fly. Range-wide, Sage Thrashers have dramatically declined in many areas and have been extirpated from some. This well-named bird is seldom found in summer away from stands of sagebrush. Does much of its foraging on the ground, running about rapidly on open ground in scrubby territory. Sage Thrashers are still common in appropriate habitat, and they may be able to tolerate fragmentation better than some species. However their brains are relatively large and their learning abilities are greater than those of most other birds. Sibley, D. A. After breeding season, they move into thickets, and are often found along creek drainages. The young leave the nest about 10 days after hatching, after which the adults may raise a second brood. During migration and wintering, Sage Thrashers use arid or semiarid open country with scattered bushes, grasslands, and open pinyon-juniper woodlands.Back to top, Sage Thrashers feed primarily on terrestrial insects and arthropods, such as ants, grasshoppers and ground beetles, which they often capture while running on the ground amid sage cover. Mostly insects and berries. Nests are built on or near the ground, most frequently in the tallest big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) around, particularly ones with wider crowns. Thrashers tend to be more numerous in areas dominated by sagebrush, a small amount of grasses, and some bare ground. Eggs are a vibrant turquoise with heavy splotches of chestnut brown. They also occasionally eat seeds and small fruits. Both parents also remove eggshells and fecal sacs from the nest. Breeds almost entirely in sagebrush areas, either in wide-open flats or where sagelands meet open pinyon-juniper woods. View full list of Washington State's Species of Special Concern. They seldom form flocks, and are found in pairs or family groups. Incubation is by both parents, about 13-17 days. Get Instant ID help for 650+ North American birds. From late summer into the winter, they eat berries and other wild fruit.