At first I thought that the black and orange birds rooting about in the fallen leaves were American Robins (Turdus migratorius), but a closer look through the undergrowth revealed that there was white on their breasts and that their eyes were red.
It turns out that they are Eastern Towhees (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), a strikingly marked oversized sparrow. It was quite a challenge to get somewhat unobstructed shots of these birds. They seemed to be in constant motion, hopping about and rummaging through the leaves—I had to chase them around for quite some time to get these modest shots.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
Great shots, Mike. Did you hear them call — “drink your teeeeeea”? I first learned this species as the Rufous sided Towhee, which is a good descriptor of their plumage.
Great shots! It’s so nice to see all the birds on your blog, especially those we don’t have over here. 🙂
I can easily see how one could mistake them for robins at first glance. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before.
I can see how you’d confuse that for a robin with a quick glance. I don’t think I’ve seen (or heard) this one.
I love these guys. They’re hard to find and even harder to capture.
[…] Not a robin […]