LeConte's Thrasher

A mellow, varied series of clear whistles and chatty phrases, often given from a low shrub at dawn. Not loud, but lovely in the still desert air.

A year-round resident of the Mojave, Sonoran, and Colorado deserts, plus Baja California. It stays local and is often tied to big, intact stretches of open desert.

Dry, sparsely vegetated desert is its sweet spot. Look on sandy flats, desert scrub, and open washes with creosote, cholla, or scattered mesquite.

Most active and easiest to find in spring, when males sing from low shrubs at dawn. In heat or wind, it keeps low, runs more than it flies, and can seem to melt into the desert.

A pale, long-legged desert thrasher that looks like it was shaped by sand and sun. It runs across open flats with its tail cocked low, then freezes and vanishes into creosote shadows.