Brown thrashers are generally inconspicuous but territorial birds, especially when defending their nests, and will attack species as large as humans.

[4] The brown thrasher was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Turdus rufus.

[14] The juvenile appearance of the brown thrasher from the adult is not remarkably different, except for plumage texture, indiscreet upper part markings, and the irises having an olive color.

The western brown thrasher is distinguished by a more cinnamon upper part, whiter wing bars, and darker breast spots than T.rufum rufum.

[10] The brown thrasher's appearance is also strikingly similar to the wood thrush, the bird that it is usually mistaken for.

It prefers to live in woodland edges, thickets and dense brush,[20] often searching for food in dry leaves on the ground.

[10][14] The brown thrasher often vies for habitat and potential nesting grounds with other birds, which is usually initiated by the males.

[14] The brown thrasher is a strong, but partial migrant, as the bird is a year-round resident in the southern portion of its range.

[25][26][27] Studies indicate that thrashers that reside in the New England region of the United States during the breeding season fly toward the Carolinas and Georgia, birds located in the east of the Mississippi winter from Arkansas to Georgia, and birds located in the Dakotas and the central Canadian provinces head towards eastern Texas and Louisiana.

[14] However, the name does not come from attacking perceived threats, but is believed to have come from the thrashing sound the bird makes when digging through ground debris.

[35] This bird is omnivorous, which has a diet that includes insects, berries, nuts and seeds, as well as earthworms, snails, and sometimes lizards and frogs.

[36] Across seasons and its breeding range, it was found 63% of stomach contents were made of animal matter, the remaining 37% being plant material.

[37] During the breeding season, the diet consists primarily of beetles, grasshoppers, and other arthropods, and fruits, nuts and seeds.

[41] Wintering birds in Texas were found to eat 58% plant material (mainly sugar berry and poison ivy) and 42% animal material in October; by March, in the dry period when food supply is generally lower, 80% of the food became animal and only 20% plants.

[14] It has also been noted for its flexibility in catching quick insects, as the amount of vertebrae in its neck exceeds giraffes and camels.

[48] In a laboratory experiment, a brown thrasher was found to be able to discern and reject the toxic eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) and a palatable mimic of that species, the red salamander (Pseudotriton ruber), but continued to eat palatable dusky salamanders (Desmognathus spp.).

[50][51] Around this time of the year the males are usually at their most active, singing loudly to attract potential mates, and are found on top of perches.

[55] The male sings a series of short repeated melodious phrases from an open perch to declare his territory,[56] and is also very aggressive in defending the nest, known to strike people and animals.

Both male and females make smack and teeooo-like alarm calls when provoked, and hijjj sounds at dusk and dawn.

[66] Brown thrashers are noted for their mimicry (as a member of the family Mimidae), but they are not as diverse in this category as their relative the northern mockingbird.

[72] Because of the apparent lack of opportunistic behavior around species like these, thrashers are prone to be driven out of zones for territory competition.

[76] Among the identified avian predators of adults are Cooper's hawks (Accipiter cooperii),[77] northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis),[78] broad-winged hawks (Buteo platypterus),[79] merlins (Falco columbarius),[80] peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus),[81] eastern screech-owls (Megascops asio),[82] great horned owls (Bubo virginianus)[83] barred owls (Strix varia)[84] and long-eared owls (Asio otus).

[84] The brown thrasher methods of defending itself include using its bill, which can inflict significant damage to species smaller than it, along with wing-flapping and vocal expressions.