Stats

Lifespan

8-12 yrs

Size

Medium

Diet

Omnivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Pair

Biome

Temperate shrubland

Range

North America

Movement

Hopping

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

The Spotted Towhee is a striking sparrow relative with a black hood, rusty-orange flanks, and crisp white spots across its wings. It forages with a distinctive two-footed "double-scratch" hop, kicking through leaf litter backward to unearth seeds and insects.

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

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Passerellidae

Genus

Pipilo

Species

Pipilo maculatus