Bird

Brown Thrasher

Toxostoma rufum

Lives in Alabama all year and nests here. Found in all 67 counties, across 12 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 12

Adult Brown Thrasher, whole bird — **Adult**. (c) Thomas Boe, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 745020072. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 12
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 12

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 12

WinterSouthern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and HammockWinslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida (1904): cabbage palms, saw palmetto and fallen trunks in a dense, shady hammock, with a wildcat in the branches. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904), a neighboring state.In the Jungle, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1904. Public domain. Source record.

WinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianWinslow Homer, Blue Spring, Florida (1890): clear blue spring water under overhanging palms. Shown: Blue Spring, Florida (Winslow Homer, 1890; National Gallery of Art), a neighboring state.Blue Spring, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest; Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

WinterSouthern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerWinterDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

SummerWinterRidge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland; Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.

SummerWinterCumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest; South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterDeveloped, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerWinterDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Other habitats in its models (97)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

In Alabama 1

Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.

Elsewhere in the South (45)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Winter.
Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Winter.
Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Central and Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest Summer and winter.
Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Winter.
Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Winter.
Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Winter.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Winter.
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Winter.
Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Winter.
Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Winter.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Winter.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter.
Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Summer.
Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
Red River Large Floodplain Forest Winter.
South Florida Hardwood Hammock Winter.
South Florida Pine Flatwoods Winter.
South Florida Pine Rockland Winter.
Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter.
Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer.
Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Summer and winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter.

Northeast (3)

Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.

Midwest (6)

North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer.
North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer.
North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer.
North-Central Oak Barrens Summer.

Land cover and other classes (42)

Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Winter.
Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Winter.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer and winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Winter.
Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Grassland Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Summer and winter.
Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter.

The model treats open patches, forest edges and extensive shrub cover differently.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

Year-round: nests here, in all 67 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 7

Common Hackberry
Celtis occidentalis
Tree. Native
Dwarf Hackberry
Celtis tenuifolia
Tree. Native
Sugarberry
Celtis laevigata
Tree. Native
American Persimmon
Diospyros virginiana
Tree. Native
Poison Sumac
Toxicodendron vernix
Tree. Native
Atlantic Poison-oak
Toxicodendron pubescens
Shrub. Native
Poison-ivy
Toxicodendron radicans
Vine. Native

Plant genera in its diet records (4)

Celtis 4 diet records. 3 native plants in Alabama
Condalia 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Alabama
Diospyros 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
Toxicodendron 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Alabama

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.