Eastern Towhee

Pipilo erythrophthalmus

Audubon Illustration

John James Audubon, Birds of America (1827-1838). Public domain.

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About the Eastern Towhee

The eastern towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), also known as chewink, joree, or joree bird, is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been under debate in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the spotted towhee were considered a single species, the rufous-sided towhee. Their breeding habitat is brushy areas across eastern North America. They nest either low in bushes or on the ground under shrubs. Northern birds migrate to the southern United States. One of this species was recorded as a vagrant to western Europe, a single bird in Great Britain in 1966. The song is a short drink your teeeeea lasting around one second, starting with a sharp call ("drink!") and ending with a short trill "teeeeea".

Source: Wikipedia

Classification

Scientific name: Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Family: New World Sparrows
Order: Passeriformes

Similar species

Other members of the new world sparrows family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.

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