Bendire's thrasher (Toxostoma bendirei) is named after U.S. Army Lieutenant Charles Bendire. On July 28, 1872 he was hiking through the brushy desert near Fort Lowell, Arizona. While exploring the desert Bendire, an avid bird enthusiast, spotted a bird that was unfamiliar to him. He sent it to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, who finally confirmed it was a new species. A secretive bird of open desert habitats, Bendire's Thrasher is a lanky, dusty brown songster with a curved bill. The common name thrasher describes the behaviour of these birds when searching for food on the ground: they use their long bills to "thrash" through dirt or dead leaves.
