LeConte's Thrasher
LeConte's Thrasher has collapsed: down 97% on the route-weighted index since 1970.
About the LeConte's Thrasher
The LeConte's Thrasher (Toxostoma lecontei) is a North American member of the Mockingbirds & Thrashers (Mimidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the arid-land birds.
- Size
- 8–12 in long (20–30 cm) — a slender, long-tailed songbird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Deserts, dry scrub and brushland of the Southwest.
- Diet
- Seeds, insects and cactus fruit of arid-land plants.
- Range
- Recorded on 63 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 4 states, most concentrated in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts.
- Family
- Mimidae · Arid-land birds
Notable LeConte's Thrasher Trends
LeConte's Thrasher has collapsed in surveyed states: down 97% on the route-weighted index since 1970.
LeConte's Thrasher Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, LeConte's Thrasher is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.00 (95% range 0.00–0.02). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±370.3%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.02 |
| 2026 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.02 |
| 2027 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.02 |
| 2028 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.02 |
| 2029 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.02 |
Where the LeConte's Thrasher Is Detected
BBS routes recording LeConte's Thrasher, sized by most recent count.
LeConte's Thrasher Population Trend by State
| Arizona | -95% | 1970 | 14 |
| California | -97% | 1970 | 43 |
| Nevada | -60% | 1993 | 5 |
| Utah | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
LeConte's Thrasher Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Coastal California | -93% | 1970 | 6 |
| Sonoran and Mojave Deserts | -97% | 1970 | 56 |
LeConte's Thrasher Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it down about 97% since 1970.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.