Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)
Description: Eastern towhees are in the sparrow family. They have large, powerful beaks, a squat body, and a lengthy, curved tail. Male towhees have black coloration on their heads and backs, white coloration on their undersides, and red coloration on their sides. Female towhees have the same coloration, except they are brown on the head and back (instead of black). Towhees are about 6.8-8.2 in. in length and have a wingspan of 7.9-11.0 in. Towhees weigh approximately 1.1-1.8 oz.
Habitat: Eastern Towhees can be found in the eastern United States. Towhees live on the borders of woodlands and in overgrown meadows. They like to be protected by thick bushes and like plenty of plant litter. The female builds a nest made of bark, twigs, leaves, and leaf stems. She lines it with grasses and hair. The nests are on the ground in leaf litter.
Diet: The diet of the Eastern Towhee is extremely varied. Some common elements include: seeds, fruit
insects, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, snails, flowers.
Behaviors:
Miscellaneous:
Habitat: Eastern Towhees can be found in the eastern United States. Towhees live on the borders of woodlands and in overgrown meadows. They like to be protected by thick bushes and like plenty of plant litter. The female builds a nest made of bark, twigs, leaves, and leaf stems. She lines it with grasses and hair. The nests are on the ground in leaf litter.
Diet: The diet of the Eastern Towhee is extremely varied. Some common elements include: seeds, fruit
insects, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, snails, flowers.
Behaviors:
- They do not spend much time flying, but instead bounce around their habitat as they forage for food
- Males display aggressive behavior to females when they first meet them, but after they become habituated to the females’ presence, they become affectionate and stay with them
- Towhees have white patches on their tails that they display when they are bothered
- The towhees’ song sounds like drink-your-tea. The call sounds like chewink, tow-hee, or joree.
Miscellaneous:
- Towhees, unlike some other birds, show no ability to recognize or remove imposter eggs