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Spotted Towhee

Pipilo maculatusOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Sparrows (Emberizidae)

Spotted Towhee Portrait
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General

Spotted Towhee: Large sparrow with white-spotted black back and black rump. Breast is black, belly is white, and sides are rufous. Head is black and eyes are red. Wings are black with white spots. Tail is long and black with white corners. Female is duller, with brown instead of black and fewer white spots.

Range and Habitat

Spotted Towhee: Breeds from British Columbia south to California and the southwest, and east to central Dakotas and western Texas. Spends winters from British Columbia, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska south to Baja California and east to Oklahoma and south-central Texas. Preferred habitats include forest edges, thickets, woodlands, gardens, and shrubby park areas.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"cheweeeeee", "meewwww"

Interesting Facts

  • When disturbed, a nesting female Spotted Towhee may run away like a mouse rather than fly.
  • They occasionally sun themselves, lying down on the grass with feathers spread.
  • They often bathe in dew or fog drip on vegetation.
  • A group of towhees are collectively known as a "tangle" and a "teapot" of towhees.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Spotted Towhee
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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.
Family
Species Pipilo maculatus
Length7 - 7.5 Inches
Wingspan10.5 Inches

Spotted Towhee

Spotted Towhee: Large sparrow, white-spotted black back, black rump. Black breast, white belly, rufous sides. Head is black and eyes are red. Wings are black with white spots. Tail is long and black with white corners. Short, bounding flights, alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.

● Song: "cheweeeeee", "meewwww"

● Foraging & Feeding: Spotted Towhee: Eats insects, spiders, seeds, and fruits; also takes small lizards and snakes; forages by double-scratching in leaf litter on the ground, usually beneath dense thickets.

● Breeding & nesting: Spotted Towhee: Two to six white or gray eggs flecked with purple and red brown are laid in a loose cup nest built in a dense bush, usually close to or on the ground. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

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

Flight Pattern

Swift bounding flight with rapid wing beats.
Spotted Towhee Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Spotted Towhee: Breeds from British Columbia south to California and the southwest, and east to central Dakotas and western Texas. Spends winters from British Columbia, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska south to Baja California and east to Oklahoma and south-central Texas. Preferred habitats include forest edges, thickets, woodlands, gardens, and shrubby park areas.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationCommon to fairly common
MigrationSome migrate
Weight1.4 Ounces