LeConte's Thrasher

Toxostoma lecontei

Runs across hot Mojave flats rather than fly. The hardest North American bird to actually see.

Population: ~79,000 mature individuals, stable trend (Partners in Flight / BirdLife International estimate, 2016)
Habitat: Sparsely vegetated, arid desert flats, dunes, alluvial fans, and gently rolling washes with scattered saltbush, creosote, cholla, and Mojave yucca — among the most arid habitats occupied by any North American bird (annual rainfall roughly 4-20 cm)
Fun fact: LeConte's Thrasher is so pale it nearly vanishes against the desert sand, and when alarmed it typically flees on foot in roadrunner-like sprints (reportedly fast enough to outpace a trotting horse) rather than flying.
Range: Southwestern United States (California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona) south into northwestern Mexico (Baja California and Sonora); nonmigratory resident year-round across an extent of occurrence of roughly 666,000 km²
Diet: Omnivorous ground forager: beetles, scorpions, spiders, grasshoppers, butterflies, moth larvae, small lizards and snakes, plus seeds, berries, and eggs (including of its own species); uses its long, decurved bill to dig deeply in soil and rarely drinks surface water, obtaining most moisture from prey
Size: 0.27 m
Lifespan: 5.7 years

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