From Opus

Pipilo maculatus

Photo by janruss.

[edit] Identification

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 grey in the female.
The species tends to vary with color and voice from place to place. It's feathers are lightest in the Great Plains, and darkest in the Pacific Northwest.

[edit] Distribution

Breeds from British Columbia south to California and the Southwest, east to central Dakota and western Texas. Winters from British Columbia, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska south to Baja California and east to Oklahoma and south-central Texas.

[edit] Taxonomy

Until recently this species was combined with the Eastern Towhee as a single species, the Rufous-sided Towhee. They are now considered distinct species and vary considerably in voice and appearance. The two species are known to interbreed where they come in contact.
Polytypic. Consists of twenty-one subspecies.

[edit] Habitat

Scrubby areas.

[edit] Behaviour

They nest either on the ground or low in bushes. The female builds the nest of leaves, strips of bark, twigs, forb stalks, and grasses, lined with pine needles, shredded bark, grasses, and sometimes hairs. At least two broods, consisting of up to 5 eggs, are laid per season. The egg shells are greyish or creamy-white, sometimes with a tinge of green, with reddish brown spots that can form a wreath or cap. The female incubates the eggs alone for 12 to 13 days; the young leave the nest at 10 to 12 days. Nests are parasitized by cowbirds.

Towhees often feed on the ground, scratching noisily in the dry leaves. The diet includes insects, acorns, seeds and berries.

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