Eastern Towhee (EATO)

Pipilo erythrophthalmus 

Male Eastern Towhee  © Daniel Emlin / Macaulay Library
Female Eastern Towhee © Marky Mutchler / Macaulay Library 

Range

Eastern Towhees breed throughout the northeastern and midwestern U.S. and along the borderlands of Canada. Their breeding range spans from North Dakota through Southern Maine and from southeastern Ontario to northern Virginia with isolated breeding populations in the Turtle Mountains, ND; Qu’Appelle Valley, SK; and in some areas of southwestern New Brunswick and central/northern Nova Scotia. The wintering range of Eastern Towhees spans from across the northeastern and southern U.S. from Pennsylvania through Florida and Texas.

Additional Maps

Identification

Eastern Towhees are medium-sized birds with thick bills and long tails. Adult males have black upperparts, throats, heads, and wings, with rufous sides and white bellies, and white tail and wing corners. Adult females are patterned similarly to males, but with brown upperparts, throats, heads, and wings rather than black. In southern American populations, individuals have pale white eyes rather than dark or reddish eyes. Juveniles have similar coloration to females but lack the rufous sides, instead sporting brown-streaked bellies. Male Eastern Towhees give a drink-your-tea! song with a sharp, metallic starting note and a musical trill final note. Sometimes the song will begin with multiple starting notes. Their most common call is given by male and female individuals and consists of a two-parted, rising chewink, tow-hee, or joree. The call varies in tone based on geography and can range from clear whistles to hoarse or nasal tones. This call is most often an alarm call.

Listen to its songs and calls here.

Habitat

Eastern Towhees are commonly found on the edge of forests, in overgrown fields and woodlands, and in shrubby backyards or thickets. They prefer habitats with dense shrub cover and leaf litter for foraging. Towhees can be found at up to 6,500 feet of elevation, but favor the warmer, dryer slopes of the southern faces of mountains over the cool, moist northern faces.

Conservation Status 

  • Listed as Least Concern by BirdLife International 
  • Listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 
  • Given Orange Alert Status on Road 2 Recovery’s Tipping Point Species 
  • Listed as Secure by NatureServe Explorer 
Status by State

Threats to Conservation

Eastern Towhees have experienced an annual decline of 1.4% between 1966 and 2015 or a cumulative decline of 53%, leaving them with a current estimated breeding population of 29 million and making them a species of low conservation concern. The population of Eastern Towhee rose in the mid-twentieth century with the decrease in American farming, which left fields unattended and overgrown. More recently, the development of these locations and the growth of shrublands have contributed to a decrease in habitat,  resulting in further declines of Eastern Towhee populations. 

Funding Opportunities
General Management Guides
Regional Management Guides
Northeast
Midwest & Central
Resources
Works Cited