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Description 10-11" (25-28 cm). The palest of the thrashers. Light sand color, with lighter, unstreaked underparts and darker tail. Dark bill, dark eyes, and dark eye line. Freshly molted (fall) birds have deep buff undertail coverts.Habitat Deserts with scant vegetation (mostly cholla and creosote bush), where the bird blends with the light-colored sandy soil.
Nesting 2-4 light blue-green eggs, speckled with brown, in a bulky twig nest covered with coarser grasses and lined with fine stems and feathers, placed in a cholla cactus or low thorny bush.
Range Resident in southeastern California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, and western and central Arizona.
Voice Song is a loud, rich melody recalling that of a California Thrasher, but less harsh and with infrequent repetition of phrases. Calls are a rising whit and tu-weep.
Discussion This thrasher is a permanent resident in the Southwest. Like most other desert thrashers, it prefers to escape by scurrying away through the sparse vegetation, but will fly if pressed. It feeds mostly in early morning or just before dark, when insects are most active, and seeks shade in the midday heat.
