Mike Powell

This past Thursday I was thrilled to photograph a handsome male Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.  Most of the times when I see towhees, they are poking about in the leaves, half hidden by the shadows, so it was wonderful to get a few unobstructed shots of one.

As I was doing a little research on this bird, I came across this wonderful description of the species on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website:

“A strikingly marked, oversized sparrow of the East, feathered in bold black and warm reddish-browns – if you can get a clear look at it. Eastern Towhees are birds of the undergrowth, where their rummaging makes far more noise than you would expect for their size. Their chewink calls let you know how common they are, but many of your sightings end up mere glimpses through tangles of little stems.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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During the winter months you sometimes have to search a little harder to find birds, but they are definitely still with us. When I caught a glimpse of this bird’s rust-colored feathers earlier this week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I assumed it was an American Robin.

When I zoomed in, however, I was thrilled to see like that the bird was an Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus). Towhees share many of the same colors with the robins, but they are arranged in a completely different way. I think that towhees are supposed to be relatively common, although I personally do not see them very often.

I love to play with words and “towhee” for some reason is fun to say out loud. Try it yourself—it is virtually guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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