California Towhee

The California Towhee is a large, plain-looking sparrow relative, uniformly warm grayish-brown all over with few strong markings, aside from a subtly rusty tinge around the face and a warmer rufous patch under the tail. The overall impression is of an understated, almost featureless bird, distinctive precisely because of its plainness compared to more boldly patterned sparrows and towhees.

The long tail, stout conical bill, and habit of moving in pairs on the ground make it a familiar, if unassuming, presence throughout much of coastal and central California.

Key field marks

• Uniform plain grayish-brown plumage with no strong streaking or spotting
• Warm rufous undertail coverts
• Faint rusty tinge around the face and throat
• Long tail and stout, conical bill

Similar species

• Canyon Towhee, found farther east and inland, is very similar but shows a faint central breast spot and a slightly rustier crown; the two species' ranges barely overlap.
• California Thrasher is much larger with a long, strongly downcurved bill, quite different in shape despite sharing brown coloring.

The California Towhee is essentially endemic to California and northern Baja California, occurring along the coast and through the Central Valley and foothills, in chaparral, coastal scrub, oak woodland edges, and, very commonly, in gardens, parks, and suburban yards.

The species is non-migratory and highly sedentary, with pairs often remaining on the same small territory year-round for life.

California Towhees are usually seen singly, in pairs, or in small family groups, foraging on the ground by hopping and scratching through leaf litter and mulch, often quite tame and comfortable around human activity in gardens and yards.

The call is a sharp, metallic "chink" or "chip," often repeated persistently, and pairs also give a distinctive high-pitched, accelerating duet of squealing notes. The song is a simple, accelerating series of sharp chip notes. Diet is mostly seeds, supplemented by insects, foraged from the ground. Nests are bulky cups placed low in dense shrubs, with typical clutches of two to four eggs, and pairs, which mate for life, often remain together on a shared territory throughout the year.