Endangered Species Protections Sought for Declining Southwestern Desert Thrasher

Endangered Species Protections Sought for Declining Southwestern Desert Thrasher

TUCSON, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today to protect the LeConte’s thrasher under the Endangered Species Act.

LeConte’s thrashers, native to arid desert habitats of the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico, have lost nearly 70% of their U.S. population over the past 50 years, primarily because of destructive sprawl development and other habitat degradation in Southern California, Nevada and Arizona.

“LeConte’s thrashers are secretive, adaptable birds who’ve been able to thrive in dry deserts with sparse vegetation,” said Jeff Miller, a senior conservation advocate at the Center. “They can’t cope with the pervasive sprawl development and rapid climate change that’s destroying their habitat across the southwestern U.S. Without protection LeConte’s thrashers will vanish from the face of the Earth.”

The 2025 U.S. State of the Birds report named LeConte’s thrasher one of the country’s 42 Red Alert Tipping Point Species — defined as bird species who have lost more than half their populations within the past 50 years and that require urgent action to address declines.

Nicknamed the “gray ghost” due to their elusive nature and pale sandy plumage that helps them blend into desert landscapes, LeConte’s thrashers are medium-sized, long-tailed and lanky birds with a strongly curved bill. They prefer sandy desert habitats with saltbush vegetation, where they forage on the ground for insects and rarely fly. Instead, they run on the ground with their tail cocked, scooting into brushy cover when threatened. Male thrashers are most noticeable during breeding season, when they perch on shrubs to sing high pitched, complex, melodious songs.

Unchecked sprawl development is a major threat to the continued existence of LeConte’s thrasher. More than 80% of the global LeConte’s thrasher population lives in southeastern California, which has undergone rapid development of subdivisions, agriculture, energy and industrial facilities, and roads that destroy and fragment desert habitat. Core thrasher populations in western Riverside County, California, and near Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phoenix are threatened by sprawl development.

The proposed construction of Interstate 11, a 280-mile highway between Nogales and Wickenburg, Arizona, would pave over and bisect habitat for a core thrasher population west of Phoenix.

Other significant threats to LeConte’s thrashers are habitat damage from off-road vehicles, mining and livestock grazing. The spread of invasive plants reduces the insect food and nesting shrubs that thrashers need and increases the intensity and frequency of damaging fire. Increasing temperatures are also eliminating the bird’s food and nesting locations. Rapid climate change poses a serious threat to LeConte’s thrashers especially because these birds struggle to adapt to other habitats.

Conservationists raised the alarm about the decline of LeConte’s thrashers and another southwestern thrasher species, Bendire’s thrasher, more than a decade ago, prompting the formation of a working group to inform conservation of these birds. In May the Center petitioned for Endangered Species Act protections for Bendire’s thrashers, who also live in arid desert habitats in the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico.

“Research and monitoring have improved our understanding of where LeConte’s thrashers live, their habitat needs and the many threats to their survival,” said Miller. “Endangered Species Act safeguards and permanent habitat protections are urgently needed to prevent their slide toward extinction.”