Eastern Towhee patch

#63 Eastern Towhee

These bulky and boldly-patterned sparrows prefer undergrowth habitat and can often be heard scratching away at the leaf litter. In the breeding season, the males usually shed their furtiveness and sing from a conspicuous perch. The females (pictured here) build their cup nests on the ground or close to it in shrubs. Their name comes from one of their most familiar calls: a two-part, rising “towhee.”