Eastern Towhee
Eastern Towhee
Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Aves
VULNERABLE

Stats

Lifespan
3-12 yrs
Size
Medium
Diet
Omnivore
Activity
Diurnal
Social
Pair
Biome
Temperate forest
Range
Eastern North America
Movement
Hopping
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Camouflage
Status
Vulnerable

About

A striking sparrow relative of eastern North American thickets, the male sports a black hood and back, rufous flanks, and a white belly, with vivid red eyes. Its scratching, two-footed backward hop through leaf litter to unearth insects and seeds gives it the folk name "chewink," echoing its call.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    egg
    A small clutch of speckled eggs is incubated in a cup nest, turned and kept warm by the parent.
  2. 2.
    hatchling
    A pink, blind hatchling is fed by its parents in the nest, gaping its bill at every visit.
  3. 3.
    juvenile
    A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest, learning to fly and to forage close to its parents.
  4. 4.
    adult
    Fully grown with adult plumage and song.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Passerellidae
Genus
Pipilo
Species
Pipilo erythrophthalmus