What is Georgia’s state bird?

In this blog, we answer the common question "What is Georgia's State Bird?" You may have guessed that it was the mosquito, but it’s actually the Brown Thrasher.

Traveling through Georgia, or even living here as a resident and you may wonder "What is Georgia's State Bird?" The Georgia State Bird is the Brown Thrasher. It was selected to be the state bird by the Governor of Georgia in 1935 (Eugene Talmadge), however, it wasn’t officially recognized as such until 1970 after being pushed by the Garden Clubs of Georgia! You can read more about it here in this article by AJC.

A Brown Thrasher (Georgia's State Bird) perched in a tree above it's nest.

We named our resident Brown Thrasher “Thor” because he absolutely dominates the feeding area when he is present. He will glide in effortlessly and perch near the ground. After a quick safety check (hawks, cats, people) he will move to the ground in search of insects or mealworms we tossed out for he and other birds. He will sometimes grab the leaves with two feet and flip then out of his way, other times he will use his bill to toss them. Either way, it’s pretty entertaining to watch Thor the Brown Thrasher looking for food. Towhees, Bluebirds, and even Carolina Wrens better look out because Thor isn't afraid to chase them away from his food source!

An adult Brown Thrasher perches while selecting the perfect mealworm snack.

We had Thrashers in the yard long before we started to feed the birds, although feeding them brought them closer than we had been to them before. If you are ever outside and near some thick, dense shrubbery and you hear something flipping leaves, and you catch a glimpse of a brownish bird about the size of a Blue Jay or a Common Grackle, it’s probably a Brown Thrasher.

A Juvenile Brown Thrasher easily blends with his surroundings

Here is an interesting note about the eyes of a Brown Thrasher. I read in several blogs that it is believed that when Brown Thrashers are very young (juvenile), their eyes appear grey or blue/grey. As they mature their eyes begin to turn brighter and brighter yellow. It was interesting that for most of the articles I read this was all based on theories. Well, here at Birds of West Cobb @birdsofwestcobb we have seen it to be true.

A juvenile Brown Thrasher perches momentarily, before disappearing into the Salvia flowers below the deck.

Brown Thrashers have an INCREDIBLE vocabulary. Years ago, I experienced a Northern Mockingbird that seemed to have an endless list of calls and sounds. While impressive, I have now seen several Thrashers do the same and with at least 4-5x as many calls and sounds as the mockingbird. Brown Thrashers can mimic or call with over 1,000 sounds, and research shows that this could actually be a lot higher still, (as much as 3,000 different calls!) That is insane to think of, and it may be more vocabulary than some people I know… ha! There is an article on the Georgia Department of Natural Resources website that talks more about it, and gives a lot more information about the Brown Thrashers in general.

This adult Brown Thrasher was photographed while hunting for breakfast on a chilly Winter morning in Marietta, GA.

Check out this recent video clip below of a Brown Thrasher taking a bath on a warm day! We cannot stress enough the importance of keeping a clean fresh bird bath for ALL of your birds. We actually have 3 different sized plates or terracotta plant dishes that work incredibly well as bird baths.