Spotted Towhee

Continuing with my “well-designed” birds theme, one bird that fascinated me once we settled into Aldea in 2014 is the Spotted Towhee. I see them on my walks around Aldea all year round and love their scolding catty call and their distinctive behavior of staying on the ground and scurrying away—not flying. The Spotted Towhee is the towhee I see most frequently although we have had Canyon Towhees and Greed-tailed Towhees in the yard depending on the season.

On the male, the red eye surrounded by a head of black feathers creates a mysterious regal air about the bird for me. The females are duller in general with more brown or washed-out black head and feathers. The beautiful rufous or dull orange-rust color on the sides contrasts with the black and white spotted wings and an underside of white. The black tail has a white end-tip. It is really a very striking bird.

The four photos below are of a male gorging himself on thistle seed. He chased all the smaller birds out and just sat there feasting while the juncos and goldfinches chattered disapprovingly from higher up in the tree. I love watching the dynamics the thistle feeder has facilitated. It has made me fully appreciate the term “bird watching” and helped me quietly observe and appreciate the birds’ antics and tugs-of-war.

The towhees also do a double-scratching dance on the ground as they sift through the dried leaf litter in the backyard. On the ground they mostly seek out insects and seeds, although they are known to go after small lizards and snakes. The male Spotted Towhee can frequently be seen and heard singing proudly from the very top of juniper and other trees throughout Aldea.

Last summer we were fortunate to have an adult visit the front yard escorting a recently fledged juvenile. The juvenile makes a very unique high-pitched squeeze-toy like sound. I had never heard that before. The adult and the juvenile were both dining on the freeze-dried meal worms I added to the fresh saucer of water I place on the flagstone walk every morning. This freeze-dried meal worm “soup” is a favorite of the towhees and the bluebirds, along with robins and blue jays. It also attracts small lizards in the summer warmth.

A group of towhees are collectively known as a “tangle” and a “teapot” of towhees. It would be interesting to find out where “Teapot of Towhees” originated along with the name Towhee.

Four views of a Spotted Towhee in the thistle feeder. Click on photos to enlarge.