Eastern Towhee
Pipilo erythrophthalmus

Conservation status | Population in northeast has declined seriously in recent decades. Elsewhere, numbers are probably stable. |
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Family | New World Sparrows |
Habitat | Open woods, undergrowth, brushy edges. Habitat varies with region, but always in brushy areas. In the Northeast, typically in understory of open woods. |
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Feeding Behavior
Forages mostly on the ground, frequently scratching in the leaf-litter. Also sometimes forages up in shrubs and low trees.
Eggs
3-4, sometimes 5, rarely 2-6. Creamy white to very pale gray, with spots of brown often concentrated at larger end. Incubation is mostly or entirely by female, about 12-13 days. Young: Both parents feed the nestlings. Young leave the nest about 10-12 days after hatching, may remain with parents for some time thereafter. Often 2 broods per year, sometimes 3 in southern part of range.
Young
Both parents feed the nestlings. Young leave the nest about 10-12 days after hatching, may remain with parents for some time thereafter. Often 2 broods per year, sometimes 3 in southern part of range.
Diet
Mostly insects, seeds, berries. Diet varies with season and region. Eats many insects, especially in summer, including beetles, caterpillars, moths, true bugs, ants, and many others, also spiders, snails, and millipedes. Rarely may eat small salamanders, lizards, or snakes. Also eats many seeds, plus acorns, berries, and small fruits.
Nesting
Male defends nesting territory by singing, often from a high perch. In courtship, male may give a soft "whispered" version of song, may chase female, or may rapidly spread tail to show off white spots. Nest site is on the ground under a shrub, or in low bushes, usually less than 5' above the ground. Nest (built by female) is an open cup of grass, twigs, weeds, rootlets, strips of bark, lined with finer materials, sometimes including animal hair.
Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
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Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
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Migration
Many southern birds are permanent residents; most in the North are migratory.

- All Seasons - Common
- All Seasons - Uncommon
- Breeding - Common
- Breeding - Uncommon
- Winter - Common
- Winter - Uncommon
- Migration - Common
- Migration - Uncommon
See a fully interactive migration map for this species on the Bird Migration Explorer.
Learn moreSongs and Calls
The song varies, often with a few introductory notes and usually ending with a long trill, such as drink-your-teeaaa or to-wheeeee. Call is an inquisitive meewww?Learn more about this sound collection.
How Climate Change Will Reshape the Range of the Eastern Towhee
Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future.
Zoom in to see how this species’s current range will shift, expand, and contract under increased global temperatures.
Climate threats facing the Eastern Towhee
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.