Louise,

How lucky you are. Sounds like you've got two or more families of
towhees with this years' brownish, striped juveniles all feeding and
socializing in your back yard. Fun!

Maureen E. Ellis, Res Associate
Tox Group at Roos 1
Dept Enviro Health
Univ of WA
Seattle, WA 98195
me2 at u.washington.edu
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On Tue, 1 Aug 1995, Louise Parker wrote:

> As a long-time lurker, I found myself reluctant to show up at the Yak-athon
> and picnic amidst all the recognizable nametags (though little did I know
> that imposters had infiltrated ... I could have pretended to be someone else
> and ruined their reputation as a knowledgeable birder). Anyway, the winter
> event-under-consideration sounds so great that I decided to start posting in
> anticipation of participating.
>
> Here's my question. I have been watching a group of birds (maybe a dozen,
> though I rarely see more than 2 or 3 at a time) in my backyard for the last
> month or so. They are the same size as rufous-sided towhees, but have dark
> eyes and are mostly brown in color-- some mottling on the breast and some
> seem to have a slightly lighter patch in the center of the breast. Their
> tails are black with the same white markings as rufous-sided, and the heads
> are darker too (though not as black as those of the rufous-sided). Their
> behavior is also like the RS (sorry, don't know the official code!), mostly
> scratching around on the ground but occasionally getting up on the feeder to
> eat.
>
> When I looked up other types of Towhees in my (limited) id guides, it seemed
> as if neither Brown or Aberts Towhees should be in this area. They also
> don't look very much like the pictures in the guides. So what's the deal?
> Are they female rufous-sided? I suspected this after seeing one being fed by
> a rufous-sided male, but they don't fit the description of females in my
> book either. Also, I've had towhees in my yard all winter and spring, but
> the brown ones just appeared in July. If they are female RSs, where were
> they before?
>
> Thanks for your patience with my beginner descriptions-- if I need to be
> looking for other things, let me know. (Oh, by the way, I have listened for
> the call-- they don't seem as vocal as the RS, but they seem to make the
> same "strangled cat" sound).
> ****************************************************************************
> *******************************
> Louise Parker
> WSU Cooperative Extension Phone 206/840-4584
> 7612 Pioneer Way East FAX 206/840-4669
> Puyallup, WA 98371
>
> NOTE NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS: parker at wsu.edu
>
> ****************************************************************************
> *********************************
>
>