Curve-Billed Thrasher

I was with my son Sam in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in February 2025. We climbed up Arch Canyon and as we got back to the bottom I saw a curve-billed thrasher running around in the parking area. I knew it was a thrasher, but did not know if it was a California thrasher, the type of thrasher we have near our home in California. I did notice it was not as wary as the thrashers near our home. The next day we did some hiking in Alamo Canyon and I saw a curve-billed thrasher in the campground there. It eventually flew up onto a saguaro cactus and stood there for awhile. The day after we were at the little oasis near the visitor center and a curve-billed thrasher came up to the small pond for a drink. I'd been to Organ Pipe many times previously and had never seen a curve-billed thrasher previously. We saw three, each on a different day, on this trip. 

There are six subspecies and we saw ssp. palmeri, also known as Palmer's thrasher, which is found in southern Arizona, and northern Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico. There are western subspecies and eastern subspecies and there are proposals to make ssp. palmeri a separate species. It has orange eyes, shading to golden as it reaches adulthood. It has a gray-brown chest with circular spots. It has a long tail, short wings, a decurved bill, and is brownish-black. The California thrasher has a slightly more curved-bill, has dark eyes instead of yellow-orange eyes and it doesn't have spots on its chest. Unlike the California thrasher, the curve-billed thrasher is not shy about being in the open. 

This and the next two photos were taken in Arch Canyon. The eyes really stand out. 

This and the next photo were taken in Alamo Canyon. 

This and the next two photos were taken near the visitor's center. Note the spots on the chest in the first photo. 

Illustration of ssp. palmeri from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World.