SACRAMENTO, Calif.— In response to Center for Biological Diversity petitions, the California Fish and Game Commission voted today to protect both the Bendire’s thrasher and LeConte’s thrasher as candidate species under the state’s Endangered Species Act.

These two declining species of desert songbirds will receive the same legal protections as state endangered or threatened species while the California Department of Fish and Wildlife conducts a formal status review, which could last 12 to 18 months. Candidate species are protected from unauthorized killing or harm.

“Candidate status is a potential lifeline for desert thrashers, who are edging closer to extinction as their numbers rapidly decline,” said Jeff Miller, a senior conservation advocate at the Center. “These secretive songbirds have seen their sparse habitats in Southern California deserts damaged and diminished by reckless development and climate change.”

The commission is expected to consider whether to protect the thrashers as endangered or threatened under state law in 2027.

Over the past 50 years the number of Bendire’s thrashers has declined by 90% and LeConte’s thrashers have dropped by nearly 70% throughout their U.S. range.

Bendire’s thrasher and LeConte’s thrasher are native to arid lands of the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. An estimated 4,400 Bendire’s thrashers (about 5% of the global population) live in southeastern California in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts. An estimated 37,000 LeConte’s thrashers (more than 80% of the global population) inhabit the Sonoran Desert and Mojave Desert portions of California as well as the southern San Joaquin Valley.

Significant areas of suitable thrasher habitat in southeastern California deserts and the southern San Joaquin Valley have been lost to sprawl development and agriculture. Habitat fragmentation and other threats such as invasive species, altered wildfire regimes, climate change, livestock grazing, off-road vehicles and mining are pushing both thrasher species to the brink.

LeConte’s thrashers inhabit some of the hottest, driest and most barren desert habitats within the region. They prefer sandy deserts with saltbush vegetation, where they forage on the ground for insects. The birds rarely fly, preferring instead to run on the ground with their tails cocked and scoot into brushy cover when threatened. LeConte’s thrashers are nicknamed the “gray ghost” because of their elusive nature and pale sandy plumage, which helps them blend into desert landscapes.

Bendire’s thrashers are also secretive and spend much of their time foraging on the ground for insects. Male thrashers of both species are most noticeable during breeding season, when they perch on shrubs to sing high-pitched, melodious songs.

Bendire's thrashers nest in cholla cactus, mesquite trees, yuccas and Joshua trees. LeConte's thrashers nest primarily in cholla cactus and saltbush. Both thrasher species require large patches of flat land with desert scrub habitats and adequate prey to survive in their water-scarce environment.

Both Bendire’s and LeConte’s thrashers have been on the California Species of Special Concern list since 1978, but that designation has not halted their population declines.

“We appreciate the commission and the wildlife department promptly moving these petitions forward to allow a more in-depth review of the status of desert thrashers in California and an assessment of the threats they’re facing,” said Miller.

In 2025 the Center petitioned for federal Endangered Species Act protections for both Bendire’s and LeConte’s thrashers. However, the Trump administration’s gutting of environmental protections and attempts to eviscerate the Act make it unlikely that federal protections for these species will move forward anytime soon.

The Trump administration has not protected a single plant or animal under the Act in its second term — the first time an administration has gone more than a year without doing so since 1981. More than 400 species are currently waiting for protection decisions and hundreds more still are critically imperiled but not even under consideration.

Thrasher habitats on federal public lands are in danger given Trump’s executive orders seeking to expand mining and energy extraction and efforts to reduce the size of national monuments in California. The Trump administration has proposed opening more than 1 million acres of public lands in California, including habitats for desert thrashers, to oil and gas drilling and fracking.