Georgia State Bird

Brown Thrasher

(Toxostoma rufum)

 Adopted on April 6, 1935.

On April 6, 1935, the Brown Thrasher, Toxostoma rufum, was first chosen as the Georgia state bird by official proclamation of the Governor. In 1970, at the request of the Garden Clubs of Georgia, it was designated by the Legislature as the official state bird. The Brown Thrasher is commonly found in the eastern section of the United States, ranging north to Canada and west to the Rockies. The bird migrates to the North in the summer and spends its winters in the Southern states.

Description of the Georgia State Bird

Almost a foot in length, the Thrasher has a long, curved bill and a very long tail. It has two prominent white wing bars, a rich brown color on its top side, and a creamy white breast heavily streaked with brown.

• Length: 10 inches
• Slender bill with base of lower mandible yellow
• Rufous crown, nape and upperparts
• Gray face
• Yellow eye
• White under parts with heavy black streaking
• White wing bars
• Long rufous tail
• Yellow legs
• Sexes similar
• Most often found in dense vegetation in hedgerows, old fields, and wood edges where it often forages on the ground

With its rufous upperparts and long tail the Brown Thrasher might be confused with the local Long-billed Thrasher (South Texas) but it has a shorter, less de-curved bill and a browner face. Thrushes are similar but are spotted below and have shorter tails.