From the Archives – Curve-billed Thrasher
© jmillerphoto.com - Curve-billed Thrasher
Curve-billed Thrashers (Toxostoma curvirostre) look evil. The Captain Hook-looking bill. The yellow eyes. The perpetual scowl.
Ounce for ounce they are also one of the meanest, most aggressive birds I’ve ever had the fortune to observe. It is the only bird that I’ve ever seen go bill to bill with a Golden-fronted Woodpecker and have the Golden-fronted back off.
I’ve made many images of my feathered friend, but this is one of my favorites and it is the one that I will dip from the archives. This image was made at San Angelo State Park’s bird blind the end of April 2008 with my trusty Canon 30D. The camera reported back 1/80th of a second at f/5.0, ISO 100. And the bird probably insisted on the settings the camera used…
Haha.. you can see the evil grinning in its eyes
Absolutely. The eyes are the window to the soul, and I was lucky enough to capture what lies within… pure contempt and meanness. Thanks for the compliment.