Verification of Unusual Sight Record
For Utah

Rec. # 2019-15


Common name:

Curve-billed Thrasher

Scientific name: Toxostoma curvirostre
Date: 6/2/19
Time: 9:12 am
Length of time observed: 5 minutes
Number: 1
Age: N/A
Sex: N/A
Location: Grand Staircase Inn, Cannonville
County: Garfield
Latilong: 37.568599, -112.054845
Elevation: 5892 ft
Distance to bird: 75 yards
Optical equipment: Pentax ED 8x 43 binos, Canon 60D dslr with 100-400 IS lens
Weather: Sunny and warm, Calm winds
Light Conditions: Clear and bright
Description:        Size of bird: N/A
(Description:)       Basic Shape: N/A
(Description:)  Overall Pattern: N/A
(Description:)            Bill Type: N/A
(Description:)                              
Field Marks and
Identifying Characteristics:
I never viewed the bird.
Song or call & method of delivery: Gave wit-weet call continuously for about 5 minutes with anywhere from 10-30 seconds between calls. Was hidden in a shrub the entire time. Spectrogram comparisons between the call note of my bird and other Curve-billed Thrashers in nearly identical, but individual birds can have slight variations to their calls notes.
(audio/spectrograms)
Behavior: I never got a look at the thrasher. It was calling in a shrub in an adjacent yard to the hotel. It gave the distinctive wit-weet of western Curve-billed Thrasher.
Habitat: Residential area with large open yards and various large shrubs and trees.
Similar species and how
were they eliminated:
No other species gives a call like the wit-weet of the western Curve-billed Thrasher.

Mockingbirds could possibly mimic the call but the call was never quickly repeated and there were no interspersed calls like would be expected with a mockingbird, just the wit-weet.
Previous experience with
this & similar species:
I have seen and heard dozens in Arizona.
References consulted: Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Western NA, Sibley Guide to Birds, Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion
Description from: Notes taken at the time of the sighting
Observer: Kenny Frisch
Observer's address: 4609 S Wallace Ln Holladay, UT 84117
Observer's e-mail address: **
Other observers who independently identified this bird: N/A
Date prepared:  6/15/19
Additional material:  
Additional comments: My ebird checklist with recordings of the calls can be found here: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56996378. The checklist also has pictures of the spectrogram from both my bird and another Curve-billed Thrasher that show how close the spectrograms are.

The Peterson companion website has many other examples of the wit-weet of the western Curve-billed Thrasher and can be found here: