Spotted Towhee

The Spotted Towhee is common in woods and tree stands, and is a frequent visitor to backyards where it forages by scratching the ground under feeders with both feet.  It is very tolerant of human presence -- while walking on woodland trails in early spring, you will often see Towhees perched on low branches of trees or shrubs with their beaks wide open in song.  Some people confuse Towhees with Robins, but on closer inspection they don’t look alike at all.  The calls and songs of the Towhees in our region are characteristic but widely variable, which sometimes makes impossible to distinguish one individual from another.  Also, some notes resemble those of the House Finch.  Generally, Pacific Coast birds sing a simple buzzy trill at variable speeds.  Typical songs include a questioning Chee-ee?