Often missed by birders, particularly those of us who hear poorly, is one of our most attractive species — the eastern towhee. Until 1995, it was called the rufous-sided towhee, a very descriptive ...

Characteristics: A sparrow-sized bird, this towhee has a black head, red eye and the males have a black back with white spots, hence the common name. Females are browner instead of black. The ...

Fire-red eyes burn in the dark. For a long time, you see nothing at all, your attention drawn only by a loud and suggestive rustling. But, you peer deeper into the tangled undergrowth, until an ...

The eastern towhee is one of those birds that shows up erratically, and when it does show up is often overlooked. That is why a report from Thief River Falls caught my attention. Valerie Solem sent a ...

Like a barnyard chicken or a miniature wild turkey, the little black bird scraped away at the leaves, using one foot at a time to reveal a seed or bug on the woodland floor, then employing both feet ...

The rufous-sided towhee, with its striking plumage, is a somewhat secretive member of the finch family that flits from beneath vegetation to visit feeders or scratch around in garden litter.

From forest edges and thickets on late spring mornings in the Northeast comes what sounds like an exhortation from across the pond: “drink-your-tea!” This is not a British parent’s plea, but rather ...