Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Persistent scratching sounds amid thick shrubbery and a shrill call, “towhee!” reveal the presence of this striking New World sparrow. The dapper Eastern Towhee and its western relative, the Spotted Towhee, were once considered one species — the Rufous-sided Towhee — but were split into distinct species in 1995. The two species sometimes hybridize in the Great Plains, where their ranges meet.
One way to tell an Eastern Towhee from its Spotted relative is by its dark back, marked only by a small white patch at the base of the wings feathers. True to its name, the Spotted Towhee has a generous smattering of white markings across its wings and back.
The Eastern Towhee has a variety of humorous-sounding folk names such as “chewink” and “joree.”
Read on to find out why: abcbirds.org/bird/eastern-towhee
Persistent scratching sounds amid thick shrubbery and a shrill call, “towhee!” reveal the presence of this striking New World sparrow. The dapper Eastern Towhee and its western relative, the Spotted Towhee, were once considered one species — the Rufous-sided Towhee — but were split into distinct species in 1995. The two species sometimes hybridize in the Great Plains, where their ranges meet.
One way to tell an Eastern Towhee from its Spotted relative is by its dark back, marked only by a small white patch at the base of the wings feathers. True to its name, the Spotted Towhee has a generous smattering of white markings across its wings and back.
The Eastern Towhee has a variety of humorous-sounding folk names such as “chewink” and “joree.”
Read on to find out why: abcbirds.org/bird/eastern-towhee
