Eastern Towhee

Appearance

The Eastern Towhee is a large and striking species of sparrow. The total length ranges from 17.3 to 23 cm and the wingspan is 20–30 cm. The body of mass of this species ranges from 32 to 53 g, with an average of 40 g. Adults have rufous sides, a white belly and a long dark tail with white edges. The eyes are red, white for birds in the southeast. Males have a black head, upper body and tail; these parts are brown in the female. Juveniles are brown overall. Eastern towhees of all ages and both sexes are generally unmistakable and are not known to co-exist with the similar western Spotted Towhee.

Distribution

The Eastern Towhee occurs throughout the eastern United States and south-east Canada. Occurrences from southern Saskatchewan, south-west Ontario and Quebec south to Florida, and west to eastern Texas are noted in a literature review. Populations north of southern New England through northern Indiana and Illinois to southern Iowa are primarily summer residents.

"Pipilo e. erythrophthalmus" occurs in the most northerly part of the Eastern Towhee's distribution in the summer, and migrates to the southern and eastern portion of the species' range in the winter. The other subspecies are largely residents. "Pipilo e. canaster" occurs from south-central Louisiana, north to northeastern Louisiana east through Mississippi, extreme southwestern Tennessee, northern Alabama and Georgia, central South Carolina to western North Carolina, and south to northwestern Florida and east along the Gulf Coast. The range of "P. e. rileyi" extends from northern Florida through southern Georgia and coastal South Carolina to east-central North Carolina. "Pipilo e. alleni" occurs in peninsular Florida.

Eastern Towhee occurs in vegetation of disturbed areas, such as old-field successional vegetation and shrubby areas of power line right-of-ways. In northwestern Arkansas, Eastern Towhees occurred in old-field vegetation where dwarf sumac occurred at a frequency of 28.6%, winged elm at a frequency of 21%, and black cherry at a frequency of 19.2%. Shrubby vegetation along power lines is commonly used by Eastern Towhees. For example in Maryland, Eastern Towhee territories along a power line right-of-way corresponded with shrubby areas containing species such as Allegheny blackberry and blueberry. Other species included hawthorn, red maple, black cherry, and black locust.

Behavior

The song is a short "Drink your teeeeea" lasting around one second, starting with a sharp call and ending with a short trill "teeeeea". The name "towhee" is onomatopoeic description of one of the towhee's most common calls, a short two-part call rising in pitch and sometimes also called a "chewink" call.

Habitat

Eastern towhees range from near sea level to as high as 6,500 ft along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina during the summer. A literature review reports Eastern Towhees up to 3,000 ft in New Hampshire.

Eastern towhees spend the majority of their time near the ground. For instance, in Pennsylvania in spring, observations of Eastern Towhees below 3 ft from the ground occurred significantly ) increasing from 4% to 7%.

Eastern towhees occur in many habitats, from tallgrass prairies and marshes to mature forests. However, Eastern Towhees are most common in early successional stands, habitat edges, and areas with similar vegetation structure throughout eastern forests.

In most communities Eastern Towhees are more abundant in young successional stands. Several studies found increased Eastern Towhee abundance on early successional sites compared to later-successional sites. Mean number of breeding Eastern Towhees and nest success rate were higher in a 15-year-old clearcut in West Virginia, than in other treatments, including a stand of yellow-poplar, black cherry, red maple, sugar maple, and white ash that was not harvested. In a southern Missouri oak-hickory forest, Eastern Towhees were not present before clearcutting or in the nearby uncut forest after cutting, but occurred at a mean density of 9.3 birds/10 ha in a 3-year-old clearcut. A study of stands of varying ages in central New York found that Eastern Towhee density peaked in early successional stands.

Although Eastern Towhees generally prefer young successional sites, variation between habitat types and years has been observed. Krementz and Powell found higher relative abundance of Eastern Towhee in young stands of loblolly and longleaf pine than mature stands when investigated in 1995. However, in stands compared in 1996, the 95% confidence intervals of Eastern Towhee relative abundance on the 2 sites had a substantial degree of overlap. The degree to which Eastern Towhee responds to succession is influenced by habitat. For example, in Pennsylvania there was a significant (p

Food

Eastern towhees primarily eat on the ground, although they also glean from vegetation. In a southeastern Massachusetts pitch pine barren, 73.5% of male and 80.4% of female foraging observations were on the ground. When foraging on the ground Eastern Towhees use a scratching technique where both feet kick back simultaneously. In a laboratory study 4 Eastern Towhees used this method to successfully obtain seed buried almost 1 inch deep. When foraging above ground the majority of time is spent gleaning foliage. In Massachusetts, 22.5% of male and 16.3% of female foraging observations were of food being gleaned from foliage. Eastern towhees were also observed gleaning from twigs, branches, and trunks. When gleaning, Eastern Towhees occurred significantly (p

Predators

Many animals prey on Eastern Towhees and their eggs, including reptiles, mammals, and birds. A literature review summarizes several reports demonstrating that predators are a major cause of nest failure. The highest nest predation rate noted was 88% in a New York study. Mammals that are likely nest predators include northern raccoons, domestic cats, and eastern chipmunks. Snakes such as bullsnakes, rat snakes and garter snakes have been reported eating Eastern Towhee eggs. Weasels and blue jays are also likely nest predators. Several birds are known to prey on both young and adult Eastern Towhees, including Northern Goshawk, Broad-winged, Short-tailed, Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks. Other predators include Barred, Short-eared and Eastern Screech-Owls and even the Loggerhead Shrike, which is scarcely larger than a towhee. At least some mammals also feed on adult Eastern Towhees. In Maryland, an Eastern Towhee was found in the stomach contents of a red fox.

Brown-headed Cowbirds parasitize Eastern Towhee nests. In a South Carolina old field, 5 of 19 Eastern Towhee nests were parasitized. Each parasitized nest contained 1 Brown-headed Cowbird egg. The desertion rate for parasitized nests was 20%, which was similar to nests that had not been parasitized. Two of the five Brown-headed Cowbird eggs produced fledglings. The study did not determine if there was a difference in nest success between parasitized and nonparasitized nests. In West Virginia, only 3 of 41 Eastern Towhee nests were parasitized by the Brown-headed Cowbird. Average number of fledged young in nonparasitized nests was 2.8, which was similar to the average of 2.7 fledglings per parasitized nest. In a Pennsylvania study site, only 2 of 36 nests were parasitized and both produced Eastern Towhee fledglings. In a study of nest parasitism on Sanibel Island, none of 5 Eastern Towhee nests found were parasitized.