The Spotted Towhee: A Striking Visitor to your Garden

December 6, 2006 on 5:45 pm | In Daily Local Birder |

One of the most dramatically-colored birds that beginning birders can observe is the brilliant Spotted Towhee. He is a regular visitor to gardens, neighborhoods, and parks in Sonoma County. Despite it being such a common bird in this area, we are always struck afresh by the brilliance of its beautiful markings.

Listen before you look for the Spotted Towhee
Ear birding plays an important role in finding the Spotted Towhee. 95% of the time, we hear this bird before we ever see it, and sometimes we only hear it but don’t get a chance to observe it. You can hear this bird from pretty far away, so you’ll always know when it’s around. Listen for a dry, hoarse, questioning raaaaah? that rises in tone and is often repeated constantly. We’ve heard the Spotted Towhee make a variety of other calls as well, but this seems to be his signature sound. Once you hear this noise, stop and try to identify where it’s coming from. Towhees like to spend a lot of time foraging on the ground in bushes and undergrowth, and they make no secret of it as they rustle and scratch through the leaves (we like to think of them as friendly little gardeners, raking the ground in our yard). The Spotted Towhee will repeat his call constantly, so once you’ve identified the location of his call, just stand and watch the bushes where it comes from for a few minutes and you’re bound to see this bird reveal himself.

We see this Sonoma County resident year-round, and have observed him at Jack London State Park, on the trails of Annadel State Park, as well as in the neighborhood. Often, we’ll hear him off in the distance as we’re observing other birds, as if he needs to make his presence known so we won’t forget him. And who could forget this handsome little bird? The Spotted Towhee is somewhat reminiscent of an oriole, with his black hood, back, tail and wings with spots of white, a white underbelly, and bright orange-red on his sides. The oriole, however, is a slender, bright orange bird while the towhee is portly and rusty orange. One of the most unforgettable features on the Spotted Towhee are his garnet-colored red eyes. Make a special note to look for these when you see this bird as it’s quite an unusual marking (it’s also one of the field marks that seems to seperate this bird from the Eastern Towhee, which lacks the white spots as well).

Though we most often see this fowl singly, you may occasionally have the chance to observe him with his wife, who is quite similar but with a duller appearance. We should also take a moment to note here that older field guides are likely to list the Spotted Towhee as the Rufous-sided Towhee. Our 1988 Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Western Edition, does this. However, the relatively new Sibley Guide for this same region distinguishes between the Spotted Towhee of the west and the Great Plains variety, and also, the Eastern Towhee. All types of this bird have general markings in common, but the amount of white trimmings sets them apart from each other.

Getting to observe the spectacular Northern Oriole is a rare treat for us in Sonoma County, as these magnificent birds only come through this area for a brief time during their migration. Therefore, it’s a wonderful blessing to have the Spotted Towhee as a permanent resident here, so that fantastic color can be a daily pleasure. Sometimes, it’s the reassuring and welcoming presence of our most familiar birds that can give us the greatest happiness in birding, and if you can spot the Spotted Towhee, it will be an experience you’ll never forget!