Eastern Towhee

Pipilo erythrophthalmusOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Sparrows (Emberizidae)

Codes: Common Name: EATO Scientific Name: PIPERP ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179276

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Overview

Eastern Towhee: Large sparrow with black upperparts, hood and upper breast, rufous flanks, and white underparts. Wings are black with white markings, and tail is long and black with white corners. Short, bounding flight, alternates several rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.

Range and Habitat

Eastern Towhee: Breeds from southern Saskatchewan east to Maine and south to California and Florida. Spends winters across much of eastern U.S. north to Nebraska and southern New England. Preferred habitats include undergrowth and brushy edges of open woods. Northeastern birds favor young jack pines or second-growth oak forests; southern birds seek scrub oak or palmetto.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Similar Sounding

Voice Text

"drink your teeee!!!", "chewink"

Interesting Facts

The Eastern Towhee was considered the same species as the Spotted Towhee until 1995. Where the two forms meet in the Great Plains, hybrids occur.

The name "Towhee," an imitation of this bird's call note, was given in 1731 by the naturalist and bird artist Mark Catesby, who encountered it in the Carolinas.

It has red eyes across most of its range, but the towhees in Florida and southern Georgia have straw-colored eyes. Eye color is variable from southern Alabama to southeastern North Carolina. This pattern may reflect the fact that the pale-eyed form, which was isolated when Florida was an island during the Pleistocene era, is now coming back in contact with the red-eyed form of the mainland.

A group of towhees are collectively known as a "tangle" and a "teapot" of towhees.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Eastern Towhee

● Song: "drink your teeee!!!", "chewink"

● Foraging & Feeding: Eastern Towhee: Eats insects, acorns, seeds, and berries; forages on the ground or in low vegetation.

● Breeding & nesting: Eastern Towhee: Two to six creamy white or gray eggs are laid in a cup nest made of sticks, rootlets, grass, bark, and leaves, and lined with soft grass and animal hair. Nest is built on the ground under a bush or brush pile. Incubation ranges from 12 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Eastern Towhee: Spotted Towhee has wing-bars and white spots on back.

Flight Pattern

Alternates several rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides., Short bouncy flights with tail spread.

Eastern Towhee Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Eastern Towhee: Breeds from southern Saskatchewan east to Maine and south to California and Florida. Spends winters across much of eastern U.S. north to Nebraska and southern New England. Preferred habitats include undergrowth and brushy edges of open woods. Northeastern birds favor young jack pines or second-growth oak forests; southern birds seek scrub oak or palmetto.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationCommon to fairly common

^MigrationNorthern birds migrate

^Weight1.5 Ounces

Perching-like Body

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Eastern Towhee

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Overview

Range and Habitat

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Similar Sounding

Voice Text

Interesting Facts

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Related Birds

Eastern Towhee

Flight Pattern