When you’re watching for this songbird, look out below. The Eastern towhee spends most of its time on the ground, whether it’s foraging or nesting.
How to Identify an Eastern Towhee
Updated on Sep. 18, 2024
What Does an Eastern Towhee Look Like?
Scientific Name: Pipilo erythrophthalmus.
Family: Sparrow
Length: 8 inches.
Wingspan: 10-1/2 inches
Distinctive Markings: Male has a black head, back and tail with white belly, orange-red sides and red or white eyes. The female’s coloring has a browner cast.
“They are sexually dichromatic–males and females have distinctive plumage color,” says Whitney Yoerger, who manages communications and outreach for Indiana Audubon.
“Males have a black hood and really strong demarcation between the breast and throat patch. Their upper parts are black too, with a white underside and patches on the wings, reddish brown sides and undertail coverts,” she says. “The females, on the other hand, everywhere that is black on the males is brown or warmer colored, including the hood and throat patch. They have the same white wing patches and underside, but brownish flanks and undertail.”
Juveniles have dark brown streaking on them and look more sparrow-like than adults.
Whitney says an eastern towhee’s eye color is typically reddish but it can vary in intensity among individuals, and there is a white eye variant. So eye color is not always the best indicator for identification. Also take note of this bird’s long tail feathers.
Out west, look for the similar looking spotted towhee. These two birds were once categorized as one species, known as the rufous-sided towhee.
Eastern Towhee Nest and Eggs
Females take on nesting building and incubation duties. The bird will use coarse materials such as bark, dead leaves, grass stems to form a cup nest that Whitney describes as “a little bit more rugged.” She lays two to six gray eggs speckled with brown (three to five is an average clutch size). “They nest on or near the ground, as their lives are tied to dense vegetation,” Whitney says.
Regarding the actual parenting, Whitney says, “It’s neat because both males and females work together to defend and care for the young.”
Learn how to identify a dark-eyed junco.
Are Eastern Towhees Sparrows?
With their distinctive look, you certainly won’t confuse adult eastern towhees for chipping sparrows or song sparrows.
Whitney says, “Towhees are members of the new world sparrow family but they are in their own genus. They are related and share some of the same characteristics but they are not true sparrows. Other sparrows have more social behavior, they are not loners hidden away foraging on their own. Towhees are typically separated and not (observed) in big flocks.”
What Do Eastern Towhees Eat?
This bird’s diet consists of insects, spiders, seeds and berries.
“They are omnivorous and they eat beetles, grasshoppers crickets, centipedes, millipedes,” Whitney says. “They will (also) eat fruit, though. So to attract them, look for native trees and shrubs with berries, such as dogwood, beautyberry and hawthorn.
Towhees have a unique and quirky foraging style. “They take their feet and they hop and move and scratch at the ground to move the loose leaf litter to flush up any insect that might be down there. That’s their primary move and why you’ll see them on the ground,” Whitney says. “I would see them under the bird feeders occasionally but they pretty much hang out deep in the shrubby stuff.”
Eastern Towhee Call and Song
Listen to the eastern towhee’s song. Their easily recognizable drink your teaaaa song starts off sounding chinky and metallic and ends with a musical drawn out note.
Bird songs provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Their typical call sounds like towhee, towhee.
Because they are secretive and like to hang out on the ground, these birds are heard more often than they are seen.
Eastern Towhee Range and Habitat
Look for these birds in old pastures, woodland edges and brushy backyards.
Their breeding range covers pretty much all of the eastern United states, from the Canadian border down to Florida, and includes parts of the Midwest. They winter in the southern U.S.
Migration patterns vary based on where they reside. Northern populations migrate north to south, while the southern birds stay put year-round. Whitney says they are short-distance nocturnal migrants and tend to move when the sparrow movement gets bigger after the neotropical movement comes through.
Range maps provided by Kaufman Field Guides, the official field guide of Birds & Blooms.
About the Expert
Outdoor enthusiast Whitney Yoerger is the communications and outreach manager for Indiana Audubon. Whitney is also a member of the board of the directors for the Indiana Wildlife Federation.
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