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Bird name:

California Towhee

Pipilo crissalisOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Sparrows (Emberizidae)
Codes: Common Name: CALT Scientific Name: PIPCRI ITIS Taxonomic No.: 202307

Breeding Location:

Bushes, shrubs, and thickets, Mountains, Scrub vegetation areas



Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester



Breeding Population:

Common in range



Egg Color:

Light blue or green with brown and black markings



Number of Eggs:

2 - 6



Incubation Days:

11



Egg Incubator:

Female



Nest Material:

Bark, sticks, weeds, and grass., Lined with mammal hair.



Migration:

Nonmigratory



Splitbar

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Suet Delight
Easy to hang and maintain, holds all kinds of packaged suet.
Ultimate Woodpecker Feeder
Only allows woodpeckers to feed made of Inland Cedar.
The No-No Copper Feeder
Beautiful copper feeder holds 2.5 lbs of sunflower seeds.
Attracting Clingers

General

California Towhee: Large sparrow with uniform brown-gray body, faintly streaked underparts, and buff throat bordered with dark streaks. Tail is long with cinnamon-brown undertail coverts. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has more diffusely streaked underparts.

Range and Habitat

California Towhee: Resident in coastal and foothill chaparral from Oregon to southern Baja California. Preferred habitats include shady underbrush, open woods, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and suburban gardens.

Breeding and Nesting

California Towhee: Two to six light blue or green eggs, with brown and black markings, are laid in a cup nest built low in a bush or young tree. Eggs are incubated for approximately 11 days by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

California Towhee: Diet consists of seeds, grain, and insects. Forages in open, but usually prefers cover, quietly double-scratching on the ground under foliage, outdoor buildings, and fences.

Readily Eats

Cracked Corn, Peanuts, Nut Meats

Vocalization

California Towhee: Song is a series of squeaky chips on same pitch, accelerating into a rapid trill; pattern varies according to geographical area. Call is a sharp "chink" or thin "tseeee."

Similar Species

California Towhee: Canyon Towhee has a rust-brown crown and grayer upperparts. Abert's Towhee is buff and has a black area around bill.

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Family Buntings, Finches, Sparrows (Emberizidae)_blue
Species Pipilo crissalis
Length9 Inches
Wingspan12 Inches

California Towhee

California Towhee: Large sparrow, uniform brown-gray body, faintly streaked underparts, buff throat bordered with dark streaks. Tail is long with cinnamon-brown undertail coverts. Pink-brown legs and feet. Short flights with rapid beating wing strokes alternating with wings pulled briefly to sides.

● Song: "chink", "tseeee"

● Foraging & Feeding: California Towhee: Diet consists of seeds, grain, and insects. Forages in open, but usually prefers cover, quietly double-scratching on the ground under foliage, outdoor buildings, and fences.

● Breeding & nesting: California Towhee: Two to six light blue or green eggs, with brown and black markings, are laid in a cup nest built low in a bush or young tree. Eggs are incubated for approximately 11 days by the female.

● Similar species: California Towhee: Canyon Towhee has a rust-brown crown and grayer upperparts. Abert's Towhee is buff and has a black area around bill.

Flight Pattern

Short flights wih rapid wing beats.
California Towhee Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: California Towhee: Resident in coastal and foothill chaparral from Oregon to southern Baja California. Preferred habitats include shady underbrush, open woods, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and suburban gardens.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationCommon in range
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight1.9 Ounces
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
Undertail covertsX
Small feathers that cover the areas where the retrices (tail feathers) attach to the rump.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

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.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX