The subtly colored Bendire's Thrasher was not recognized as a species until 1872, when U.S. Army Lieutenant Charles Bendire collected a bird he didn't recognize during a desert hike. Bendire, an amateur naturalist, sent the specimen to Elliot Coues, an eminent ornithologist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Coues carefully studied the unfamiliar bird and classified it as a new species, naming it in honor of Bendire.   

The arid Sonoran Desert region is home to most Bendire's Thrashers. The species occupies year-round habitat in the extreme southwestern U.S. and Mexico, although some of the birds fly a short distance north to breed. Bendire's is often found in association with other southwestern "specialty" species such as Costa's Hummingbird, Elf Owl, and Lucy's Warbler.

Hear this thrasher's musical warble >>