Spotted Towhee
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| Spotted Towhee | ||||||||||||||
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| Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 |
The Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus, is a large sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been debated in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the Eastern Towhee were considered a single species, the Rufous-sided Towhee.
Adults have rufous sides, a white belly and a long dark tail with white edges. The eyes are red. They have white spots on their back and white wing bars. Males have a dark head, upper body and tail; these parts are brown or grey in the female.
Their breeding habitat is chaparral, thickets or shrubby areas across western North America. They nest either on the ground or low in bushes. This bird interbreeds with the Collared Towhee where their ranges overlap in southwestern Mexico.
Northwestern birds migrate east to the central plains of United States. In other areas, some birds may move to lower elevations in winter.
These birds forage on the ground or in low vegetation. They mainly eat insects, acorns, seeds and berries.
The call may be harsher and more varied than for the Eastern Towhee.