And now a typically colored Spotted Towhee...
Dave Hansen took this photo at his Bear Valley Springs home of a Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus). Dave says that he and his wife Linda particularly enjoy the attractive, striking coloration of Spotted Towhees, and these are one of their favorite visiting birds.
Last week, Natural Sightings featured a photo of an unusual leucistic Spotted Towhee photographed by Bill Moffat at his home in Hart Flat, so this is a great opportunity to see what a typically-colored Spotted Towhee looks like.
Male Spotted Towhees have raven-black heads, throats and upper backs with distinctive red eyes. Their black backs are spotted with white, like a cake with dark chocolate glaze dappled with dots of white frosting. The towhee’s
sides are a rusty cinnamon color and their bellies are snowy white.
Unlike many songbird species, female Spotted Towhees are not plain, their coloration is much like that of the males, though a little more muted.
Though Spotted Towhees are more often noticed in yards and near feeders during the winter months, they are here year-round, especially at higher elevations or areas with lots of brush or chaparral, and they do breed in the Tehachapi Mountains.
Towhees, whose name is pronounced like “Toe-ee” with a silent “h” sound, are actually a type of large sparrow about the size of a Western Meadowlark or American Robin.
Most people think of the many different sparrows (there are 44 species in North America) as typically “little brown jobs,” difficult to distinguish in the field, and many of them are.
But not Spotted Towhees. These well-marked birds, most often seen foraging on the ground, are immediately recognizable.
NATURAL SIGHTINGS is a regular feature of the Tehachapi News edited by Jon Hammond which showcases photos of the natural beauty that enhances the quality of life in Tehachapi. If you have a good quality image of plants, animals,
insects, trees, birds, weather phenomena, etc., taken in the Tehachapi area, you may submit it to the Tehachapi News. Submissions
can be dropped by the News office in the form of a print or CD, or sent by email to: editorial@tehachapinews.com.