#melozone

[haveyouseenthisbirdpoll]

Have you seen a California towhee (Melozone crissalis)?

Yes, in nature

Yes, in captivity

No, only in pictures/taxidermy/I've only heard of it

No, and I have never heard of this bird

No, but I have heard one

I might have/I'm not sure

Voting ended onJul 31, 2024

Photo source

Map source

[best-bird-tournament]

Melozone towhee/ground sparrow

Which is the best bird?

Abert's towhee

Cabanis's ground sparrow

California towhee

Canyon towhee

Prevost's ground sparrow

Rusty-crowned ground sparrow

White-eared ground sparrow

White-throated towhee

Voting ended onJul 26, 2025

[birdblues]

California Towhee

[orca-in-disguise]

Critter fact #148:

There are 8 extant species of towhees, 4 in the genus Pipilo and 4 in the genus Melozone.

[uwmspeccoll]

A Towhee Feathursday

This week we present a few of those long-tailed sparrows, the Towhees!! These little beauties can be a bit shy, so they are often difficult to spot, but when you do, what a pleasure! Once again, these images are from Rex Brasher’s massive, limited-edition, 12-volume set Birds and Trees of North America, self-published in Kent, Connecticut, between 1929 and 1932, containing thousands of hand-colored reproductions of Brasher’s paintings.

These New World Passerines fall into two genera: Melozone and Pipilo, and we are showing specimens from both. From top to bottom, they are:

Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus): detail and full print -- This rufous-sided, speckled-wing towhee resides mainly west of the Mississippi River.

California Towhee (Melozone crissalis): full print only -- As the name indicates, this towhee ranges from northern California to the tip of the Baja peninsula.

Canyon Towhee (Melozone fusca): detail and full print -- The range of this towhee is adjacent to the California Towhee, and there is still some dispute whether the two are just subspecies of the same bird.

Abert's Towhee (Melozone aberti): full print only -- This little guy has a very narrow distribution mainly around the lower Colorado River and Gila River watersheds.

Green-tailed Towhee (Pipilo chlorurus): full print only -- The Green-tailed is just that, green-tailed, and is the smallest of the towhees. Its range covers most of the interior Western United States, with a winter range in Mexico and the southern edge of the Southwestern United States.

Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus): detail and full print -- This is the towhee we get to see here in Wisconsin, a very lovely bird! Its range covers much of the U.S, and parts of southeastern Canada, east of the Mississippi.

Find out more about Rex Brasher’s work, and/or view other posts from this set.

View more Feathursday posts

[best-bird-tournament]

Melozone ground sparrow runoff

Which is the best bird?

White-eared ground sparrow

Cabanis's ground sparrow

Prevost's ground sparrow

Voting ended onAug 22, 2025

Propaganda:

Cabanis's Ground-Sparrow: one of 8 endemics in Costa Rica and super cute! Looks like he is wearing a little mask. Got to see them while we were there and my husband ruined it by calling them juggalos...

[zarigueyamuerta]

I found a nest of baby towhees in the cedar bush right outside my bedroom window! Theyre so cute ;-;

[alonglistofbirds]

[8/10,976] Abert’s Towhee - Melozone aberti

Order: Passeriformes Suborder: Passeri Superfamily: Emberizoidea Family: Passerellidae (new world sparrows)

Photo credit: Jason Vassallo via Macaulay Library