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Eastern towhee, adults

Pipilo erythrophthalmus

Description:

Eastern Towhees are birds of the undergrowth, where their rummaging makes far more noise than you would expect for their size. Their chewink calls let you know how common they are, but many of your sightings end up mere glimpses through tangles of little stems. Males are striking: bold sooty black above and on the breast, with warm rufous sides and white on the belly. Females have the same pattern, but are rich brown where the males are black. Eastern Towhees spend most of their time on the ground, scratching at leaves using both feet at the same time, in a kind of backwards hop.

Habitat:

Their breeding habitat is brushy areas across eastern North America. Seen in my yard.

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7 Comments

Maria dB
Maria dB 11 years ago

Thanks, Jerry; look forward to seeing your spotted towhee when you succeed!

Maria dB
Maria dB 11 years ago

Thank you, Mary!

MaryEvans2
MaryEvans2 11 years ago

Lovely spotting and series of photos ;)

Maria dB
Maria dB 11 years ago

Thanks, Anne Marie. I didn't realize they are hard to spot since I see them all the time. I not only put seed in feeders but on the ground and I guess they now know there is a feeding station here.

Anne Marie McCaffrey
Anne Marie McCaffrey 11 years ago

Terrific photos - so hard to catch these guys out in the open.

Maria dB
Maria dB 11 years ago

Thank you, Cindy!

CindyBinghamKeiser
CindyBinghamKeiser 11 years ago

Gorgeous series!

Maria dB
Spotted by
Maria dB

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

Spotted on May 12, 2012
Submitted on May 13, 2012

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