By: Megan Sanders Introduction: Hey guys! Let's talk about a bird called a Crissal Thrasher. The Crissal Thrasher is a desert bird that lives in the American Southwest all year round. They like to live in desert shrubbery and by streams. They eat spiders, berries, and nuts. It has a grey body with a reddish undertail. It has a long, curved beak and it grows to be about 32cm long. The bird nests in various shrubbery and the girl and boy crissal thrasher take turns keeping the nest safe. If you want learn more about the crissal thrasher please read below and answer the questions as well as do the activity located at the bottom of the page.  .I am a Crissal Thrasher. I am a desert bird that lives in the American Southwest year round. I am also known as a Moqueur cul roux to the French and a Cuitlacoche crisal to the Spanish. You can hear me singing my low, mellow song in the desert. Where do I live? I live in the American southwest. I live near desert streams. I also like to live in high elevations. I like to stay in dense, low scrubby vegetation. What do I eat? My favorite thing to eat are insects and spiders. I use my long beak to probe the ground for prey. I will also eat some seeds and berries if I cannot find any bugs to feed on. What do look like? I have light grey feathers and dull yellow eyes. I have a long curved bill, a long tail, and a reddish under-tail. I grow to be 32 cm long and I weigh about 2.0 ounces. How do I reproduce? I nest in dense shrub about 3 to 8 ft. tall. My mate and I take turns keeping the nest and our babies safe. I am the only thrasher that does not lay spotted eggs. What is a fun fact about me? I do not like to fly very much. I like to run and hop instead. Even if a predator is near, I run not fly. You can find information about me at: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Crissal_Thrasher/id Actvities for the Crissal Thrasher: 1. For kindergarten: Paint a picture of the Crissal Thrasher. Use grey paint for the body and yellow paint for the eyes. 2. For first and second grade draw a picture of the Crissal Thrasher. Label the head, body, tail, wings, and eyes. 3. For third grade complete a PowerPoint on information they find on the website as well as from other sources on the Internet. They should make a slide for what the bird looks like, where the bird lives, what the bird eats, and another slide for any other information they found interesting. Also they must include a theme for their PowerPoint and pictures of the Crissal Thrasher. Make sure they cite all their sources by pasting the web addresses at the bottom of the slides. |