Spotted Towhee
Piplio maculatus
eBird describes the Spotted Towhee this way: Large, striking, long-tailed sparrow of western North America, from Canada to Guatemala. Black above with white spots on wings and back, bright rufous sides, and white belly. Eye is staring red. In flight, note white corners on tail. Also note females are grayer than males. Most similar to Eastern Towhee. Spotted shows more extensive white wing markings than Eastern, but note Spotted never shows the single bold white patch seen on the folded wing of Eastern. Hybridizes with Eastern Towhee in central North America; hybrids usually show intermediate wing pattern. Some populations in Mexico have olive tones on the upperparts and also hybridize with Collared Towhee. Inhabits scrubby areas and forest edges with thickets. Forages primarily by hopping along ground, scraping away leaf litter. Males sing from atop shrubs and low trees. Visits feeders. All About Birds adds this descriptive information for the Spotted Towhee: The Spotted Towhee is a large, striking sparrow of sun-baked thickets of the West. When you catch sight of one, they’re gleaming black above (females are grayish brown), spotted and striped with brilliant white. Their warm rufous flanks match the dry leaves they spend their time hopping around in. The birds can be hard to see in the leaf litter, so your best chance for an unobstructed look at this handsome bird may be in the spring, when males climb into the shrub tops to sing their buzzy songs.
I saw and photographed my first Spotted Towhee at the Agarita Blind in South Llano River State Park shortly after noon on April 17, 2022. The bird was surprisingly cooperative and I was able to get some very good looks at it that day. A beautiful bird that I was very happy to add to my list!
“Cool Facts” About the Spotted Towhee From All About Birds:
- Watch a Spotted Towhee feeding on the ground; you’ll probably observe its two-footed, backwards-scratching hop. This “double-scratching” is used by a number of towhee and sparrow species to uncover the seeds and small invertebrates they feed on. One Spotted Towhee with an unusable, injured foot was observed hopping and scratching with one foot.
- The Spotted Towhee and the very similar Eastern Towhee used to be considered the same species, the Rufous-sided Towhee. The two forms still occur together in the Great Plains, where they sometimes interbreed. This is a common evolutionary pattern in North American birds – a holdover from when the great ice sheets split the continent down the middle, isolating birds into eastern and western populations that eventually became new species.
- Early in the breeding season, male Spotted Towhees spend their mornings singing their hearts out, trying to attract a mate. Male towhees have been recorded spending 70 percent to 90 percent of their mornings singing. Almost as soon as they attract a mate, their attention shifts to other things, and they spend only about 5 percent of their time singing.
- Spotted Towhees live in drier habitats than Eastern Towhees. Some scientists have suggested that the bold white spots on Spotted Towhees’ backs help them blend in to the sun-dappled undergrowth.
- The oldest recorded Spotted Towhee was a male, and at least 11 years old when he was recaught and rereleased during banding operations in California.