WatchList Species Account for Le Conte’s Thrasher (Toxostoma lecontei)

Qualifies for the list as a Rare Yellow List Species

Photo: © 2005 Steve Sosensky

Le Conte’s Thrasher is a permanent resident of the deserts of the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico. An uncommon and hard-to-find bird, it characteristically exists only in low densities; in good habitat for the bird there may be only 10 adults per square kilometer. Its typical habitat is sparsely vegetated desert flats, dunes, or gently rolling topography with a high proportion of species of saltbush or shadscale and cholla cactus. Most of the shrubs are below 2.5 m in height. A requirement is that there be accumulated leaf letter under plants since the bird feeds almost entirely on arthropods taking shelter in this litter during the day. It also consumes plant seeds and opportunistically takes small snakes, lizards, and bird’s eggs. All its basic water requirements are met through its diet, as it lives in an environment where surface water is only rarely available.

As a nest site it prefers cholla cactus or thick, dense and thorny desert shrubs in deep shade from overhanging branches. Though the extent of its known range has not changed since the late 19th Century, much of its U.S. habitat within that range has been lost to development, resulting in great reductions locally in its numbers. One threat is degradation and destruction of habitat by ATV use; ATVs crush vegetation and destroy underlying litter and soil surface, making the area unsuitable for the thrasher. Livestock grazing often destroys vegetation and similarly eliminates habitat. Large desert areas set aside for conservation administered by the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management will help protect the bird.