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towhees and the one in the West went back to being called spotted.
Towhees, of any name, are beautiful birds. They are members of the sparrow family and share many of the same traits and habits. They have thick bills and they spend most of their time feeding on or close to the ground. Like many sparrows, they also nest close to the ground.
They may be big sparrows, but I think they are more striking than any other member of the group, and it is always a treat to look out and see one hopping around under my feeders.
One of the first things you notice, other than the size and the striking plumage, is their behavior. Towhees feed by scratching on the ground, hopping forward and then jerking both feet backwards quickly. The seeds are right there, the bird just has to reach down and pick it up, but the towhee persists in its hop-and-scratch method anyway, sometimes throwing seed up in a shower around it.
The reason for the behavior is that a towhees’ natural habitat is woodland and scrub that has a heavy layer of dead leaves and small twigs covering the ground. To find its preferred food under this carpet of nature’s litter requires digging down a bit.
The towhee uses the hop-and
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