Spotted Towhee

The Spotted Towhee is yet another beautiful bird that comes to our garden.

Latin name: Pipilo maculatus

Length, wingspan: 8.5″, 10.5″

What they eat: Insects, berries and seeds

Habitat: Shrubby undergrowth, edges of forested growth

Where they nest: On the ground

My observations: Spotted Towhees are beautifully marked and quite notable for their deep red eyes. You’ll typically see them on the ground, poking around in leaf litter under shrubs. In addition to our shrub beds, we’ve seen them underneath seed feeders, eating anything that the birds above missed! It took me a long time to get a decent photo of this bird as they tend to be a bit bashful. The bird pictured is likely a male since females have a more grayish back. Since they nest on the ground, it’s likely their mottled plumage helps them blend in with the environment around them. They have quite an unusual song, which is has been described as a “buzzing trill.”

For more details about this bird, go to Cornell’s All About Birds website.

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