Hello tweets,

Ian Paulsen forwarded this message and asked me to look in our collection.

>I noticed this morning a Towhee was visiting the feeder in my yard. But
>when I put my binoculars on it the back was all black except for a small
>white spot on each side of the bird (similar to the Eastern Towhee). I've
>checked my birdbooks and they all seem to claim Spotted Towhees should
>always have a spotted back.
>
>Could this be an Eastern Towhee? Or do Spotted Towhees not always show
>spots on the back?
>
>Bruce Fischer
>Aberdeen, WA

The spots on the "back" of a Spotted Towhee are white spots on the outer
edge of the outer scapulars. They are more pronounced in those from eastern
WA, even more so farther east, and least on the Northwest coast subspecies
Pipilo maculatus oregonius. All birds seem to have them, even if reduced on
some, but--at least on specimens--they can be hidden by the entirely black
back feathers that overlie them. The other spots on a Spotted Towhee are
the white tips to the greater coverts, like a spotted wing bar. The
outermost primaries have white outer webs about halfway down their length,
showing as a white streak on the edge of the wing.

Eastern Towhees should be easily recognizable. Not only do they have no
scapular spots ("back spots"), but they also lack spots on the greater
coverts ("wing spots"). Instead, the outer primaries are white-based, and
this shows up as a white spot just beyond the tip of the black greater
coverts--about the same place as the white spot on the wing in a
Black-throated Blue Warbler. Eastern Towhees also have the white streak
midway on the outer primaries; thus they have two areas of white on the
edge of the wing. Interestingly, because they are the least marked with
white of all the Spotted Towhees, our local birds for the most part lack
the broad white outer edges to the tertials (the posteriormost flight
feathers that overlie the back) that are found on both Eastern Towhees and
all the interior races of Spotted Towhees. Have I hopelessly confused you
by now?

I've never compared the two so critically before, and I feel quite ready to
recognize the first Eastern Towhee that shows itself at my feeder!

Dennis

Dennis Paulson, Director phone 253-756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax 253-756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416
http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/museum.html