spotted towhee – a curious nature

Spotted Towhee – Page 4 .. The 100 Day Project (2026)

April 1, 2026

Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)

Here’s one of my favorite birds that’s a regular visitor to our yard. Spotted towhees, especially the males, are year-round residents throughout most of New Mexico, which means they breed in the shrubby vegetation surrounding our home. In our area, males sing at the crack of dawn until late afternoon beginning in early February. Instantly recognizable, their beautiful songs carry far and wide. Their songs not only signal to their mate it’s time to pair up again (spotted towhees are monogamous), they also let other male competitors know they’re horning in on his territory.

With favorable weather and abundant food, spotted towhees can produce two clutches of chicks during the breeding season. Their ground nests are hidden so well under a dense oak that I’ve never been able to find one. But it’s a lot of fun to watch clumsy fledglings trying to master the “two-footed-hop-forward-scratch-backward” forging technique all spotted towhees use to uncover hidden bugs and seeds.

Fun Facts

The spotted towhee and the eastern towhee were considered to be the same species called the rufous-sided towhee until 1995.
Male towhees have been recorded spending 70% to 90% of their mornings singing during breeding season.
Once a male mates, he only spends about 5% of his time singing.
It’s thought that the spotted towhee’s white spots are a form of camouflage.
Spotted towhees will sun themselves by lying on the ground feathers spread.
They will bathe in the dew or fog that has collected on vegetation.
Nesting females have been seen running away when disturbed rather than flying.
A group of towhees is called a “tangle” or a “teapot.”
When two towhees fight, one bird will pick up a piece of twig and carry it around as a sign of submission.
Their bright red eyes act as a visual signal during the breeding season, standing out in their dark, shady, ground-level habitats.

Do spotted, canyon, green, eastern or any of the towhee species visit your yard?

Hope you enjoyed this post! Thanks for stopping by!

References

audubon.org

inaturalist.org/taxa

allaboutbirds.org

explorer.natureserve.org

https://peecnature.org/learn/nature-guides/featured-critters/spotted-towhee/

The Circle of Life

March 17, 2024

It’s been a few days now, and the scene continues to replay over and over in my mind’s eye. Somehow my sketch of these two birds …. one the victor, the other the victim ….. came easily and quickly, much like the time it took for the event to unfold.

Returning to our house after photographing snow scenes created by an overnight winter storm, I paused at the door, turning to admire the beautiful white landscape. Faster than an eye blink and just as quiet, a sharp-shinned hawk soared by at top speed, obviously intent on capturing one of our feeder birds!

I’ve seen this small hawk fly by a few times over the past several weeks, but the smaller juncos, finches and titmice always managed to duck for cover in the nick of time, foiling the “sharpy’s” chances of a meal. But the hawk, perhaps better skilled in his timing and approach after some practice runs, wasn’t about to miss on this day.

The spotted towhee must’ve been so focused on scratching for buried seeds that all obvious warning calls eluded him. Out in the open eating seed under one of our feeders, the towhee must’ve been too hard to resist for the sharp-shinned hawk, and fell victim to the expert predator.

Having camera already in hand, I was able to take a half dozen photos after the sharpy snatched the towhee with his long piercing talons, pinning him securely to our brick patio. As sad as it was to watch the towhee struggle against the hawk’s sure grip, it was all over for the towhee in 30-45 seconds. Then as fast as the sharp-shinned hawk had attacked, he regripped the lifeless towhee, lifting him effortlessly and flew away into the trees.

The circle of life.

“You can’t imagine anything like nature as we know it without predators.”

-Dale Jamieson

“Every living creature, big or small, plays such an important role in our ecosystem.”

-Mufasa’s memorable speech to Simba (from The Lion King)

June “Littles” ….. a buzzy, buggy, snake-y month

June was hot, Hot, HOT

Two-page spread with 14 June Littles + Flambé

June was dry, Dry, DRY

June was the month of bugs (from the big tarantula hawk wasps, to the microscopic gnats), withering flowers, disappearing birds, and snakes! We seemed to encounter an extraordinary number of snakes this month, including gopher (bull) snakes, diamondback rattlesnakes, patch nose snakes, garter snakes, and one very scary prairie rattlesnake. Read on for that story.

Luna and the Prairie Rattler! Our scariest encounter was with a 3-foot prairie rattlesnake right in our front courtyard. One day he had crawled out from the shade of a blue spruce to warm up in the morning sun. It was Luna that had changed his demeanor from placid to pissed off. Prairie rattlers don’t typically alert trespassers; that’s the secret to their hunting success, and Luna didn’t recognize the danger. She began sniffing around and unintentionally violated his personal space. The snake responded by instantly coiling and violently rattling his tail. The noise seemed deafening and was definitely alarming. As I came running to Luna’s rescue, Roy noticed the commotion and quickly arrived with snake stick and bucket in hand. By this time the snake had backed into a corner, furiously rattling, but was relatively easy to capture. Snake temporarily out of the way, we then carefully checked Luna for signs of snake bite (none detected! Lucky Luna).

Now back to the snake in bucket. It had taken less than 30 seconds for Roy to capture and slip him into the 5 gallon bucket. It was then that I was able to take my first photos, from a respectable distance just in case the snake decided to leap clear of the bucket!. If looks could kill, well ………….. About 15-20 photos later, the bucket lid was secured in place, and we took the snake for a little ride about a mile from home where he was carefully released in an uninhabited area, unharmed.

Again, a big shout-out to “Made by Fay” for the inspiring “Littles” idea! Stay tuned for the next installment of “Littles.”

July 27, 2023