Spotted Towhee

The Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus), formerly lumped with the Eastern Towhee in one species-the "Rufous-sided Towhee", is a strikingly handsome ground forager with a black hood over its head, breast and back, white flecking on its back, rufous flanks, and a long black tail with white spots at the corners. The Spotted Towhee is a year-round resident in the western U.S., a breeding bird in the northern Rocky Mountains, and a wintering bird in the western plains and northern Mexico. The Towhee was named for one of its calls, and it is more often heard calling from a low, dense thicket than it is seen. The Spotted Towhee also gives a loud, cat-like mew and a song consisting of a few quick, slurred introductory notes followed by a short, thin trill.