Spotted Towhee

You may hear this bird before you see it! If you hear scratching and rustling noises coming from leaf litter or a birdfeeding area, you may be hearing a Spotted Towhee. Try to get a peek, because it's a beautiful backyard bird!

You may hear this common winter bird before you see him.  The source of a scratching, rustling noise is a bird slightly smaller than a robin.  The Spotted Towhee is a restless bird who stands and perches in a tilted-forward posture with tail cocked up.  You may see one scratching busily about in leaf litter with a quick forward hop and backward flick with both feet, but only if you’re stealthy!  It may head quickly into dense shrubbery if disturbed. 

The male Spotted Towhee is a large, long-tailed sparrow dressed in bright contrasts.  His black hood, wings and back contrast sharply with its reddish flanks and white belly, and its bright red eyes make it a particularly striking bird!  The female has similar markings but is brown instead of black.  The towhee is named for its song.  Our local birds sing a buzzy trill “chew-weee” or “chup-chup-zeee.”

Spotted Towhees are easily found as long as there are plenty of low-lying shrubs.  Their diet includes grass seeds, insects, and berries.  They’re not too shy to visit backyard feeding stations!  They are often seen on or near the ground scratching for millet and black oil sunflower seeds.  Attract these birds with an open, relatively low platform feeder.

This bird breeds at forest edge, in open woods, in shrubby park areas, and in thickets.  The nest is close to the ground or even on the ground if sheltered.  The female hatches two clutches of eggs per season, but the male does most of the feeding.  Family groups remain together throughout the summer.