California Towhee

Overview

California Towhee: Large sparrow, uniform brown-gray body, faintly streaked underparts, buff throat bordered with dark streaks. Tail is long with cinnamon-brown undertail coverts. Pink-brown legs and feet. Short flights with rapid beating wing strokes alternating with wings pulled briefly to sides.

Range and Habitat

California Towhee: Resident in coastal and foothill chaparral from Oregon to southern Baja California. Preferred habitats include shady underbrush, open woods, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and suburban gardens.

INTERESTING FACTS

California Towhees are highly territorial and will often battle their own reflections in windows or other reflective surfaces.
First named as a separate species in 1839, they were combined with Canyon Towhee in 1886. Studies of their mitochondrial DNA has recently resulted in them being considered a full species once again.
They forage on the ground, scuffing the dirt with both feet at once in a fast, hopping motion.
A group of towhees are collectively known as a "tangle" and a "teapot" of towhees.

The California Towhee is native to the United States and Mexico. This is a terrestrial bird that has a range of nearly 400,000 square kilometers. The global population of the California Towhee is believed to be nearing 5 million individual birds. As a result of its fairly large range and population, the California Towhee has been downgraded from a previous rating of Lower Risk to a current rating of Least Concern.