Eastern Towhee

Appearance:

Length: 6.8-8.2 in
Weight: 1.1-1.8 oz
Wingspan: 7.9-11.0 in

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. Towhees are a kind of large sparrow. Look for their thick, triangular, seed-cracking bill as a tip-off they’re in the sparrow family. Also notice the chunky body and long, rounded tail.

Habitat:

Eastern Towhees can be found throughout the state year round in brush, tangles, thickets, and along forest edges where there’s plenty of leaf litter for the birds to forage in.

Behavior:

They spend most of their time on the ground, scratching at leaves using both feet at the same time, in a kind of backwards hop. They spend lots of time concealed beneath thick underbrush. You may see this bird more often when it climbs into shrubs and low trees to sing.