Spotted Towhee
Pipilo maculatus
Summary 4
The spotted towhee (Pipilo maculatus) is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been debated in recent decades, and until 1995 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 gray in the female. They are 6.7 to 8.3 inches in length. One of the most commonly spotted birds in the COSA, they are year-round residents.
Sources and Credits
- anonymous, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EasternTowhee23.jpg
- (c) sarbhloh, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/29452402@N07/2939912802
- (c) Dawn Beattie, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Male_Spotted_Towhee_(pipilo_maculatus)_(8400654883).jpg
- Adapted by dirstine from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipilo_maculatus
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