Species
Eastern towhee
Pipilo erythrophthalmus
A large, black-hooded sparrow with rusty sides that scratches noisily in leaves and says 'drink-your-tea'.
Photo Unknown photographer (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC0 1.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 17 to 23 cm long
- Weight
- About 32 to 52 g
- Habitat
- Thickets, woodland edges and shrubby yards
- Diet
- Seeds, insects and berries
- In Georgia
- Common resident statewide
- Voice
- "Drink-your-tea!" and a rising "chewink"
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Male
- Black hood and back; rusty sides; white belly; red eye
- Female
- Brown where the male is black
- Told apart from
- American robin, which has a grey back and all-red breast
- Where to look
- On the ground under shrubs, scratching in leaves
Behaviour
Towhees scratch in leaf litter with both feet at once, hopping backward to uncover food.
Why they matter
Eastern towhees depend on thickets and shrubby edges, and they have declined where those are cleared. They show the value of leaving leaves on the ground.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Nest — A cup on the ground or in a low shrub
Eggs — Usually three or four
Incubation — About 12 to 13 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about 10 to 12 days
Lifespan — Several years
Living around people
- Leaving leaf litter under shrubs gives them food.
Misconceptions
- Towhees are robins. They are large sparrows.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | Present | Singing | Nesting | Nesting | Chicks | Second broods | Young fledging | Present | Present | Present | Present | Present |
Where it lives
Recorded in 40 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
United States
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Connecticutbreeding
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinoisbreeding
- Indiana
- Iowabreeding
- Kansasbreeding
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Mainebreeding
- Maryland
- Massachusettsbreeding
- Michiganbreeding
- Minnesotabreeding
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nebraskabreeding
- New Hampshirebreeding
- New Jersey
- New Yorkbreeding
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahomain winter
- Pennsylvaniabreeding
- Rhode Islandbreeding
- South Carolina
- South Dakotabreeding
- Tennessee
- Vermontbreeding
- Virginia
- West Virginiabreeding
- Wisconsinbreeding
Mexico
If you found one
Answer a few questions and you will get a specific answer for what you are looking at.
I found an animal