- Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Identification
Male
- Rufous sides
- Black upperparts, and breast
- White underparts
- White outer tail feathers are seen in flight
Female
- Brownish upperparts
- Rufous sides
- White underparts
- Similar patterned to male, only black areas are replaced with brown
Distribution
Eastern United States north to New York and Massachusetts.
Taxonomy
Formerly considered conspecific with the Spotted Towhee as the Rufous-sided Towhee.
Subspecies[1]
Eastern Towhee (Red-eyed)
- P. e. erythrophthalmus:
- Eastern North America (southern Canada to Gulf Coast)
- P. e. canaster:
Eastern Towhee (White-eyed)
- P. e. rileyi:
- P. e. alleni:
- Central peninsula Florida to tip of peninsula
Habitat
Deciduous forest and woodland edges, scrub, fields and gardens.
Behaviour
Breeding
They nest in low vegetation or on the ground under shrubs.
Diet
Seedeaters, they readily visit garden feeders.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Wikipedia
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Eastern Towhee. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Eastern_Towhee