Eastern Towhee
Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Eastern Towhees are bold ground-foraging songbirds known for red eyes, rusty sides, and a sharp drink-your-tea call.
Eastern Towhees live in shrub edges, scrub, thickets, and yards with dense low cover.
They spend long periods scratching through leaves while males sing from exposed branches.
Habitat:
Forests and Woodlands, Scrub and Dry Prairie, Urban and Residential Areas
Area / Range:
Statewide
Diet:
Beetles, caterpillars, spiders, snails, seeds, acorns, berries, and small fruits.
Behavior:
They use a two-footed backward hop to uncover food beneath leaves and remain close to dense cover.
Day, Dawn, Dusk
Active Times:
Best time to see:
Early morning along brushy woodland edges, native shrub beds, and trails with deep leaf litter.
Florida Native Status:
Native
Conservation Status:
Common in suitable habitat, though long-term declines follow loss of dense early-successional cover.
Safety Level:
Low Risk
Safety Information:
Towhees pose no danger. Keep cats indoors and avoid pruning active nesting cover.
Benefits to Property:
They consume insects and add songbird diversity to yards with native shrubs and leaf litter.
Property Concerns:
Their scratching shifts mulch and leaves beyond bed edges but rarely harms plants.
Fun Fact:
The drink-your-tea song usually ends in a musical trill.
Wildlife Laws:
Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Birds, active nests, eggs, and young must remain undisturbed.
Identification:
Males are black above with white bellies and rusty sides. Females replace black with warm brown. Both sexes show white tail corners.
Credits:
Facts: Cornell Lab. Images: male and female.