Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)

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. Also known as the red-eyed towhee, this eastern bird was earlier combined with the western spotted towhee (P.maculatus) as a single species, the rufous-sided towhee. The two are now considered distinct species and vary considerably in voice and appearance. The two species are known to interbreed where they come in contact, which has confused the issue.

The male eastern towhee has a black hood, back and wings. The tail is black with white edging on outer feathers; breast and belly white with bright rufous sides. The female has the same pattern, but is brown where the male is black. Both sexes have red eyes.

This towhee's habitat is forest edges, thickets, woodlands, gardens and shrubby park areas. It breeds from southern Saskatchewan east to Maine and south to Texas, the Gulf Coast and Florida, and winters across much of the eastern United States north to Nebraska and southern New England. Three to six white eggs are laid, with reddish-brown and lilac spots, in a loose cup nest built in a dense bush, close to or on the ground if sheltered by tall vegetation. Towhees often feed on the ground, scratching noisily in dry leaves.

The song varies, often with a few introductory notes and usually ending with a long trill, such as drink-your-teeaaa or to-wheeeee. The call is an inquisitive meewww?

Reference: National Wildlife Federation eNature. Photo by R. Hays Cummins, Ohio Bird Collection.

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