Late July is somewhat of a lull when it comes to the world of backyard birds: summer migrants have become old news, fall migrants are still months away and the flood of baby birds encountered in early ...

An eastern towhee is back on my property. I didn’t see it, but heard its distinctive song, “drink your tea.” Before we talk about this bird’s behavior, let’s discuss its family, the Emberizids.

Learning to recognize every bird song is a daunting task. I still don’t recognize every song or call note I hear. As a beginning birdwatcher I was slow to learn the songs. It was easier to let more ...

There is a bird called the California towhee that is found in almost every yard. It is the most mundane of backyard residents: plain and brown, a chunky, clumsy member of the sparrow family that hops ...

Explore why birds sing in the morning. Discover the biological factors behind their vibrant morning chorus and joyful songs.

The Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) is an infrequent visitor to backyard bird feeders. Consider yourself lucky to see this large sparrow, with distinctive plumage, feeding on the ground ...

Sparrows are difficult to identify with most of them appearing plain brownish to grayish. The green-tailed towhee adds some zip to its gray body with unique greenish-yellow highlights on the wings and ...

It’s the time of year when young birds start making their first forays to feeders, usually accompanied by their parents and siblings. In recent weeks, I’ve seen everything from young brown thrashers ...

The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, Vol. 131, No. 3 (September 2019), pp. 625-628 (4 pages) We present observations of breeding behaviors exhibited by a bilateral gynandromorph Eastern Towhee (Pipilo ...