Eastern Towhee
Description
7-8" A mostly black bird with dirty red brown sides and white belly. Long black tail with white tip. Short, stout, pointed bill with rich red eye. White wing patches flash in flight. Female: Similar to male, but is brown, not black. Juvenile: Light brown, heavily streaked head, chest, and belly, long dark tail with white tip..
Voice
Song typically one to three short, husky introductory notes followed by slow, musical trill jink denk te-e-e-e-e-e-e ("drink-your-teeee"); much variation in details. Call typically a strongly rising chewink or zhwink with husky, nasal quality. Flight call a long, thin buzz zeeeeweeee.
Migration
Complete, to southern states and South America.
Nesting
Cup; female builds; 2 broods per year. 3-4; creamy white with brown markings. Incubation: 12-13 days female incubates. Male and female feed young.
Other
Common name comes from its distinctive "tow-hee" call given by both sexes. Mostly known for its characteristic call that sounds like, " Drink-your-tea!" White-eyed form in southern states. Seen hopping backwards with both feet to rake up leaf litter, called bilateral scratching, in search of insects and seeds. Female broods, but male does most of the feeding of young. White-eyed Eastern Towhee is found in the southeast, with a clinal transition to Red-eyed in the north. It averages less white in the tail and gives a simpler upslurred zwink call and more variable song then Red-eyed. Also note that some individuals on the outer banks of North Carolina give a hoarse merrre call like Southwest Spotted Towhee.
Picture
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