Birdfinding.info ⇒ The Cozumel Thrasher is either on or past the brink of extinction. It was fairly common on Cozumel until Hurricane Gilbert battered the island in September 1988. Thereafter its population appeared to dwindle rapidly, and monthly surveys during 1994-95 yielded only four reports. In 1995 Hurricane Roxanne hit Cozumel and there were no confirmed records until 2004, when two birds were reliably reported. In 2005 two more hurricanes hit Cozumel, and the only subsequent report was a hypothetical sighting in 2006.
Cozumel Thrasher
Toxostoma guttatum
Endemic to Cozumel, where it inhabits (or inhabited) scrubby, deciduous woodland. Widely believed to be extinct, although it remains possible that a small population persists in an isolated area somewhere on the island.
Identification
A medium-large thrasher with rusty-brown upperparts, grayish cheeks, white underparts with bold black streaks on the breast and sides, and a fairly long, decurved blackish bill. Typically shows two narrow white wingbars.
Very similar to the familiar, widespread Brown Thrasher of eastern North America, but about 10% smaller.
Cozumel Thrasher. © Jon Hornbuckle
Cozumel Thrasher, ventral view. © Naturalis Biodiversity Center
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Cozumel Thrasher, ventral view. © Naturalis Biodiversity Center
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Voice. A lively, musical songster: Macauley Library recording from July 1, 1978, © Robert B. Waide; Macauley Library recording from June 10, 1959, © Ronald Fowler
Notes
Monotypic species.
IUCN Red List Status: Critically Endangered.
References
BirdLife International. 2018. Toxostoma guttatum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22711105A130585318. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22711105A130585318.en. (Accessed November 26, 2019.)
Brewer, D., and B.K. MacKay. 2001. Wrens, Dippers, and Thrashers. Yale University Press. New Haven.
Cody, M., and C.J. Sharpe. 2019. Cozumel Thrasher (Toxostoma guttatum). In Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D.A. Christie, and E. de Juana, eds.). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. https://www.hbw.com/node/58203. (Accessed November 26, 2019.)
eBird. 2019. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed November 26, 2019.)
Howell, S.N.G., and S. Webb. 1995. A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Mortensen, J. L., K. F. Freeman, and M. N. Morton. 2014. White-breasted Thrasher (Ramphocinclus brachyurus), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T.S. Schulenberg, ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.whbthr1.01.