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Breeding Range. (Fig. 124). Fairly common locally throughout the state.

Breeding Habitat. Natural habitats commonly occupied by breeding Brown Thrashers include open brushy woods and tracts or patches of brush composed of small trees and tall shrubs. Man-made habitats with established growth of trees and shrubs are also utilized. These include landscaped residential areas and parks in towns and cities, farmsteads with trees and shrubs, and shelterbelts.

Nesting. Breeding season: Mid-May to late July; peak, late May to early July. Extreme egg dates (9 nests): May 20 [1964] in Burleigh County (V. Erickson) to July 8 [1901] in Nelson County (Bishop egg collection catalog, Peabody Museum). Extreme nestling dates (6 nests): June 16 [1912] in Nelson County (Bailey 1915b) to July 8 [1964] in Cass County (North Dakota State University Museum catalog). Six records of dependent young out of the nest ranged from June 26 [1912] in Nelson County (Bailey 1915b) to July 23 [1921] in Ramsey County (F. C. Lincoln).

Nests are located in dense thickets and are situated in a considerable variety of woody plants including hawthorn, choke cherry, western rose, lilac, and bur oak. Distances of nest rims above the ground for five nests ranged from 27 to 36 inches and averaged 33 inches. According to Jensen (1918), nests at Wahpeton were situated from 1 to 25 feet above the ground.

Indicated clutch size (6 nests): 3 to 5 eggs; mean, 4.3 eggs.

Figure 124. Breeding Range of Brown Thrasher.