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LeConte's thrasher (''Toxostoma lecontei'') is a pale bird found in the
southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...
and northwestern
Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
. It prefers to live in deserts with very little
vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic charact ...
, where it blends in with the sandy soils. LeConte's thrashers are nonmigratory birds that reside in the same territory annually. Although the species has been decreasing in certain areas of its range, in particular California, it still is abundant enough to not be considered for
vulnerable Vulnerable may refer to: General * Vulnerability * Vulnerability (computing) * Vulnerable adult * Vulnerable species Music Albums * ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997 * ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003 * ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...
status. These birds are terrestrial and only fly occasionally. Both sexes are heavily involved in the nest building, incubating, and brooding process, though each alternates with primary responsibility of the tasks. LeConte's thrashers frequently compete with species such as the
northern mockingbird The northern mockingbird (''Mimus polyglottos'') is a mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has rarely been observed in Europe ...
,
loggerhead shrike The loggerhead shrike (''Lanius ludovicianus'') is a passerine bird in the family Laniidae. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related northern shrike (''L. borealis'') occurs north of its range, however i ...
and
greater roadrunner The greater roadrunner (''Geococcyx californianus'') is a long-legged bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, from the Aridoamerica region in the Southwestern United States and Mexico. The scientific name means "Californian earth-cuckoo". Along ...
, as well as being potential prey for the latter.


Taxonomy

LeConte's thrasher is named after Dr. John Lawrence LeConte, an
entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
who eventually became president of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsi ...
. There are two subspecies: ''T.l. lecontei'' (Lawrence, 1851) – range is from southwestern United States (south central and eastern
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
, southwest
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
, and south central
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...
) to northwestern Mexico (north east
Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
and northwest
Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...
). ''T.l. arenicola'' (Anthony, 1897) Rosalia thrasher; west coast of Baja California. ''T.l. arenicola'' has been proposed by the
American Ornithologists Union The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its ...
as separate species, and treated as a separate species by other authors. and a name of Vizcaino thrasher if it becomes official. ''T.l. arenicola'' still is treated as a subspecies of ''lecontei'' by some authors, however. A proposed race ''T.c. macmillanorum'' only exhibits minor differences in plumage from ''T.l. lecontei'' (such as a darker crown and lighter flanks), but is not justified by biochemical or morphological grounds. One study suggested that the
phylogeographic Phylogeography is the study of the historical processes that may be responsible for the past to present geographic distributions of genealogical lineages. This is accomplished by considering the geographic distribution of individuals in light of g ...
structure of the LeConte's is consistent with both its geographic distribution and genetics, with the
Vizcaíno Desert Vizcaíno may refer to: *Biscayne (ethnonym), an ethnonym in use in Spanish between the Renaissance and 19th century, meaning a Basque speaking person Places *Key Biscayne, originally Cayo Vizcaíno, an island in Florida, USA * Sebastián Vizcaí ...
in Baja California acting as a barrier initiating
allopatric speciation Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...
. The two closest living relatives of LeConte's thrasher, the
California thrasher The California thrasher (''Toxostoma redivivum'') is a large member of family Mimidae found primarily in chaparral habitat in California and Baja California. It is the only species of ''Toxostoma'' throughout most of its range.Cody, M. L. (202 ...
and the
crissal thrasher The crissal thrasher (''Toxostoma crissale'') is a large thrasher found in the Southwestern United States (western Texas, southern New Mexico, southern Arizona, southeastern California, extreme southern Nevada, and extreme southwestern Utah) to ...
, form as the ''lecontei'' group. The similarities with these three species contrasted with other ''Toxostoma'' thrashers, in particular the sickle-shaped bill, longer legs and smaller wings indicated its adaption to a preference to running and digging for food.


Description

LeConte's thrasher weighs from and are , and there is no
sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...
within the species. Their wings are typical of birds that are sedentary, as they are short and rounded. There are noted differences among the subspecies. The crown, back, shoulders, and rump of ''T.c. lecontei'' possess a sandy pale-gray color. The primaries and secondaries are grayish brown. The rectrices are of a darker gray brown that contrasts with the plumage. Lores and ear-coverts are a mottled gray brown. The throat is an off-whitish color of a darker stripe. The chest and belly is puffy gray, and the vent and uppertail coverts are of a warmer tint in contrast to the palish chest and belly. The underwing is both gray and buff, with a brown-chestnut iris, a black-sickle shaped bill, and legs that are nearly black. ''T.l. arenicola'' has a darker chest and underparts and a shorter tail. In its juvenile stages, the thrasher is darker brown, and its feathers looser and fluffy in appearance, especially on the vent.


Range and habitat

This bird ranges from California as far west as the San Joaquin Valley through southern
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
and southwestern
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
and central and southern Arizona, and is a resident species throughout its range. It resides in some of the harshest climates in its region, including the
Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizon ...
and the
San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...
, and where annual rainfall only averages 4 to 20 cm. The typical desert habitat consists of dunes, alluvial fans, and flat to gently rolling hills with shallow washes with sparse vegetation. The vegetation that it may utilize includes low vegetation such as
saltbush Saltbush is a vernacular plant name that most often refers to '' Atriplex'', a genus of about 250 plants distributed worldwide from subtropical to subarctic regions. ''Atriplex'' species are native to Australia, North and South America, and Eurasia. ...
,
creosote Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics. Some creosote types were ...
, cholla cacti, and
Mojave yucca ''Yucca schidigera'', also known as the Mojave yucca or Spanish dagger, is a flowering plant native to the southwest deserts of North America. Description ''Yucca schidigera'' is a small evergreen tree growing to tall, with a dense crown of sp ...
. The range of altitude spans as low as 80 m below sea level (in
Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in North Am ...
) to as high as 1,600 m, although 500 m above sea level is the average. It does not generally coexist with other thrashers due to its habitat, but does overlap breeding ranges and general habitat with the
California thrasher The California thrasher (''Toxostoma redivivum'') is a large member of family Mimidae found primarily in chaparral habitat in California and Baja California. It is the only species of ''Toxostoma'' throughout most of its range.Cody, M. L. (202 ...
in the higher desert regions of its range. The thrasher has had its population decline in certain regions of its range, notably the
Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind "Coachella – Woodstock In My Mind" is a song by Ame ...
,
Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...
and the
San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...
regions. Major reasons for its decline include urbanization, cultivation of land for