page_title: LeConte's thrasher
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: LeConte's thrasher / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Leconte's Thrasher illustration from A history of North American birds / by S. F. Baird, T. M. Brewer, and R. Ridgway. 1905
context_page_description: LeConte's thrasher is a pale bird found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It prefers to live in deserts with very little vegetation, 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 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, loggerhead shrike and greater roadrunner, as well as being potential prey for the latter.
context_section_description: LeConte's thrasher weighs from 55 to 75 g (1.9 to 2.6 oz) and are 24.5–29 cm (9.6–11.4 in), and there is no sexual dimorphism 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.
caption: Leconte's thrasher illustration from Baird, 1905
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