towhee

/tow"hee, toh"hee, toh"ee/, n.

any of several long-tailed North American finches of the genera Pipilo and Chlorura.

[1720-30, Amer.; imit.]

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Any of several North American songbirds (passerine family Fringillidae, sometimes Emberizidae), long-tailed thicket-dwellers that noisily scratch the ground for food.

The name is from the call of the rufous-sided towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), known as chewink in the southeastern U.S.; it ranges from Canada to Central America. About 8 in. (20 cm) long, it has a dark hood, white-cornered tail, and rusty flanks; western subspecies have white-spotted wings. The brown towhee (P. fuscus) of the western U.S. is a plain-looking bird. The green-tailed towhee (Chlorura chlorura), also western, is gray, white, and greenish, with a red-brown cap.

Rufous-sided towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)

John H. Gerard from The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers

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▪ bird

 any of several North American birds in the family Emberizidae, order Passeriformes (passeriform), that are long-tailed skulkers in thickets, where they are rarely seen but are often heard noisily scratching for food on the ground. Their name is from the call of the eastern, or rufous-sided, towhee (chewink) (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), which is known as the chewink in the southeastern United States; it ranges from Canada to Central America. It is about 20 cm (8 inches) long, with a dark hood, white-cornered tail, and rusty flanks; western subspecies have white-spotted wings. A plain-looking towhee of the western United States is the canyon, or brown, towhee (P. fuscus). The green-tailed towhee (P. chlorurus), also western, is gray, white, and greenish, with a red-brown cap.

Sy Montgomery

 

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