The Eastern Towhee is a large species of sparrow that lives across eastern parts of North America. They breed across the northeast quadrant of the U.S. and into Canada; year-round they can be found in much of the southeast USA.
Male Eastern Towhees are striking with black heads, rufous sides, and white bellies. Female plumage follows a similar pattern, though they are duller overall.
Towhees feed by foraging for seeds or insects on the ground. They scratch at leaf litter by scooting backwards with both feet to reveal potential meals among the debris.
The Eastern Towhee is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2012 by BirdLife International. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Sexual dimorphism refers to observable differences between males and females of the same species. In basic terms, it means that a male of a species is easily distinguished from a female. In birds this usually means differences in size or in... Read more »
Today the Birdorable Eastern Towhee makes its debut! Eastern Towhees are bulky, boldly-plumaged sparrows. They live across eastern North America; birds that breed in the north are migratory. They are ground feeders, scratching at the earth with their feet to... Read more »
