I need info on Rofous Sided Towhees?

Question

I have one bird that visits my feeder every day that I can get very close to. I also have another bird that acts similar but is colored like a young Cardinal, perhaps immature Towhee?

Answer 1

What state do you live in? Actually Rufous-sided towhee was split years ago into two different species...the Spotted Towhee that ranges in the west and the Eastern Towhee that ranges in the east..the Rufous-sided Towhee no longer exists. You may have California Towhees in your area in you live in the western part of the country...this may be your bird.

Answer 2

1. Rufous-sided Towhee - Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Characteristics
Range
Habitat
Diet
Life Cycle
Behavior
Classification

Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Emberizidae
Genus: Pipilo

Rufous Sided Towhee
Click on the images for a larger view.

Characteristics
Rufous Sided TowheeThe rufous-sided towhee is about seven inches in length. It has red-brown eyes, long black tail feathers and a small pointed black bill. The male rufous-sided towhee has a black head, neck and shoulders, a white chest and rust-red wings and sides. The female has the same color pattern as the male, but where he is black she is a dark brown.

Range
The rufous-sided towhee breeds from British Columbia east to Maine and south to California, Louisiana, Florida and Guatemala. It winters in the south from British Columbia, Nebraska and southern New England.

Habitat
The rufous-sided towhee lives in thickets and at the edges of brushy woodlands.


Diet

The rufous-sided towhee scratches under leaves looking for food. Nuts, seeds and fruits make up most of its diet. It also eats some insects.
Life Cycle
The female makes a nest of weeds, leaves, bark and stems on or near the ground in a well-covered area. Sometimes the males brings materials for the nest. The female lays two to six eggs. The male sometimes brings the female food during incubation. The female incubates the eggs. The chicks hatch in a little under two weeks and both parents feed them. The chicks fledge when they are 10 to 12 days old. The female usually has two broods a year.

Behavior

Rufous-sided towhees have regional accents! Depending on where they live, the towhee's call will vary. Birds in the east sound nothing like birds in the west.

2. Eastern towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Identification Tips:

* Length: 7.25? inches
* Conical bill
* Red eye (white in southeastern birds)
* Rusty sides
* White belly
* Buffy undertail coverts
* White primary bases and tertial edges
* Long tail with white outer tail feathers
* Male has black head, back, wings and tail-brown in female
* Juvenile (Summer) heavily streaked, brown above and buffy below
* Frequently feeds on the ground where it noisily scratches for food
* Formerly conspecific with Spotted Towhee

Similar species:

The Eastern Towhee is similar to the Spotted Towhee but lacks wing bars and white spots on the back.
Life History Groupings

Migration Status:Short distance migrant

Breeding Habitat:Successional-scrub

Nest Location:Ground-low nesting

Nest Type:Open-cup

Clutch Size:3-5

Length of Incubation: 12-13? days

Days to Fledge:10-12

Number of Broods:2, occasionally 3 in south

Diet:

Mostly:

* Nuts
* Seeds
* Fruit

Lesser Quantities of:

* Insects
http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/BBSMap/ra5870.gif
http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/CBCMap/ra5870.gif

Egg: http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/Egg/e5870.jpg

Song: http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/Song/h5870so.mp3

Call: http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/Song/h5870ca.mp3

Pipilo erythrophthalmus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Taxonomic Serial No.: 179276
Taxonomy and Nomenclature

Kingdom: Animalia
Taxonomic Rank: Species
Synonym(s):
Common Name(s): Eastern Towhee [English]

Rufous-sided Towhee

tohi à flancs roux [French]

Toquí pinto [Spanish]


Taxonomic Status:
Current Standing: valid

Data Quality Indicators:
Record Credibility Rating: verified - standards met


Taxonomic Hierarchy

KingdomAnimalia -- Animal, animals, animaux
PhylumChordata -- chordates, cordado, cordés
SubphylumVertebrata -- vertebrado, vertebrates, vertébrés
ClassAves -- Birds, oiseaux
OrderPasseriformes -- passereaux, Perching Birds
FamilyFringillidae -- Buntings, Finches, gros-becs, Grosbeaks, moineaux, Old World Finches, roselins, Sparrows
GenusPipilo Vieillot, 1816 -- Towhees
SpeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus (Linnaeus, 1758) -- Eastern Towhee, Rufous-sided Towhee, tohi à flancs roux, Toquí pinto
Direct Children:
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus alleni
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus arcticus
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus canaster
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus clementae
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus consobrinus
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus curtatus
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus erythrophthalmus (Linnaeus, 1758)
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus falcifer
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus falcinellus
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus gaigei
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus magnirostris
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus megalonyx
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus montanus
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus oregonus
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus rileyi
SubspeciesPipilo erythrophthalmus umbraticola


References

Expert(s):
Expert: Alan P. Peterson, M.D.
Notes: PO Box 1999 Walla Walla, Washington 99362-0999
Reference for: Pipilo erythrophthalmus

Answer 3

Google gives 34,000 pages on Rofous Sided Towhees.
Google Images has many pix.