Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Brown Thrasher
Scientific name:	Toxostoma rufum
Date:	3/27/23
Time:	6:29pm
Length of time observed:	15 minutes
Number:	1
Age:	?
Sex:	?
Location:	492 E 200 S Farmington. Home is on the bench of the mountains
County:	Davis
Latilong:	40.97617, -111.87680
Elevation:	4660 ft
Distance to bird:	20-30 feet
Optical equipment:	8x42 binoculars
Weather:	Sunny and clear
Light Conditions:	The west sun was directly on the bird. The sun was behind us and the colors of the bird were very clear even with the naked eye.
Description: Size of bird:	Robin size or slightly bigger than a robin
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Passerine, robin shape.
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	Rusty red back and tail, streaky chest, creamy white neck.
(Description:) Bill Type:	Long, about the same length bill as head.
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	Rusty red back and tail. Tail was quite long and held up slightly like a wren. Heavily streaky chest, creamy white neck. Bill was long and about the same length as the head. It wasn't easy to make out, but I could faintly see one white wing bar. Bill was lighter on bottom than top. Eye was light in color, but I couldn't really tell if it was more yellow or olive in color. (see photos)
Song or call & method of delivery:	Not observed
Behavior:	Foraging in the leaf litter. It was pounding on something, probably an acorn, with it's bill on the rock when we first saw it. It was in and out of the scrub oak trees, and flighty when we tried to get closer.
Habitat:	The house is surrounded by trees, mostly scrub oak and some pine trees, along with other trees such as aspens and orchard trees. There's some berry trees and blackberry bushes. Very thick vegetation in sections. There's a small stream running through the yard that attracts a lot of birds.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	At first glance a Hermit Thrush was the likely candidate, but the Hermit Thrush's bill is shorter, has a dark eye, shorter tail, and is smaller than the bird we observed. The length of the bill lead us to look at thrasher options. The similar species to a Brown Thrasher listed in the app aren't close in the coloring to what we observed except for the Wood Thrush, which has a dark eye and smaller than our bird. Bill of observed bird did not look as curved as a Long-billed Thrasher and did not appear to have a gray face.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	We have never seen a Brown Thrasher before, but have observed Curved-billed Thrasher 4 times in Arizona, Bendire's Thrasher and Crissal Thrasher each once in Arizona on the same trip that we saw the Curved-billed Thrasher, and a Sage Thrasher twice. We've frequently seen and heard Hermit Thrush 14 times and have observed Swainson's Thrush and Varied Thrush each once. We've also observed Northern Mockingbirds on several occasions
References consulted:	Used IBird Pro app and also looked at Cornell's entry of Brown Thrasher
Description from:	Notes taken at the time of the sighting
Observer:	Melissa and Spencer Aston
Observer's address:	855 S 140 E Farmington, Utah
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	Spencer and I both worked together to ID the bird.
Date prepared:	4/2/23
Additional material:	Photos
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