Towhee Keeps Watch On High
by Kym Backland
Title
Towhee Keeps Watch On High
Artist
Kym Backland
Medium
Photograph
Description
I love the Rufous Sided Towhee! He sits in the catbird seat, (which is the branch that is taller than all the other around him.) He is a ground feeding bird, thus they suffer the trials of being on the ground most of the time. This makes them subject to cats, dogs, hawks, and vunerable to many things. This Towhee has lived in this bush for years and years. I have saved him from the Copper's Hawk that has tried to eat him for lunch many times. I hope he is around for many years to come! He and the Fox Sparrow, have a strange relationship, and eat, and nest close to each other in this Huckleberry bush every day, every season.
The Spotted Towhee is a distinctive bird that is often heard before it is seen, scraping about in the brush. The deep chestnut flanks and sides combined with the male's solid black head, red eye, and black upperparts are distinctive. The belly is white, and the white spots on the wings give this bird its name. The white at the corners of the long tail is visible in flight. Females appear similar to males, but are dark brown while males are black. Juvenile towhees are heavily streaked. Towhees in Eastern Washington are more heavily spotted than their western counterparts, with larger spots and more white on their tails.
Habitat
Spotted Towhees are found in shrubby habitats in forested lowlands throughout Washington. They often use shrubby thickets in residential areas, on clear-cuts, and around wetlands. In eastern Washington, they use edges and riparian areas near shrub-steppe.
Behavior
Mainly a ground-forager, the Spotted Towhee uses a two-footed scratching method, kicking both feet backward at the same time to locate food under the litter. This movement is often quite loud, and when the birds are in thick cover, the sound of them foraging is one of the best ways to locate them. Towhees prefer to forage in areas with a thick layer of leaf litter and a screen of foliage and twigs low to the ground. These birds sometimes forage in trees as well, a practice that is most common in spring. Spotted Towhees occasionally sun themselves, lying down on the grass with feathers spread. They have several distinctive calls and songs, and readily respond to 'pishing.'
Diet
Spotted Towhees are primarily seedeaters, although in the breeding season they eat and feed their young many insects and other arthropods.
Nesting
Males defend their territories by singing, and pairing begins as early as February. In April, the female picks a nest site on the ground, or close to it. Nests are usually well concealed by adjacent plants but are not typically inside thickets. When built on the ground, the nest is sunk into the leaf litter so that the rim of the nest cup is even with the litter surface. The female builds the nest of bark, grass, and leaves and lines it with pine needles, hair, and other fine material. She lays 3 to 5 eggs and incubates them for 12 to 14 days. Both parents feed the young. They leave the nest at 9 to 11 days, but do not fly for another six days. The parents continue to feed the young, which stay in the parents' territory for about 30 days after they leave the nest. Each pair usually raises only one brood per season.
Uploaded
January 10th, 2013
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Viewed 215 Times - Last Visitor from Tilbury, ON - Canada on 01/22/2024 at 5:04 PM
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Comments (11)
Kym Backland
CHARLIE, Hello again! Is it still Friday where you are? Thanks much for the feature you gave me today of my photo TOWHEE KEEPS WATCH ON HIGH in your group NATURE AND LANDSCAPE...Much appreciated Charlie!
Kym Backland
NADINE AND BOB Thanks much for the feature you gave me yesterday of my photo TOWHEE KEEPS WATCH ON HIGH in your group ARTISTS NEWS.. Much appreciated!
Kym Backland
Thank you so much for the feature you gave me yesterday of my photo TOWHEE KEEPS WATCH ON HIGH in your group ARTISTS NEWS.. Much appreciated!
Nadine and Bob Johnston
Congratulations, on your Feature V,F, AND Publication in -The Artist News - an Internet Weekly... http://paper.li/f-1343723559# and on the Home page of ARTIST NEWS. Thank You for submitting it to the group....
Kym Backland
ELIZABETH, Thank you so much for the feature you gave me yesterday of my photo TOWHEE KEEPS WATCH ON HIGH in your group ART COLLECTORS CHOICE!
Kym Backland
JAMES, Thanks again for the feature of my latest photo TOWEE KEEPS WATCH ON HIGH in your group BEAUTY... I really do appreciate your time James!
Kym Backland
OIYEE, Thank you so much for the feature of my photoTOWEE KEEP WATCH ON HIGH in your wonderful group A SENSE OF SERENITY...I appreciate this so much~
Ronda Broatch
Ooh ooh ooh! What did you get??
Kym Backland replied:
Ronda, Well, I got one camera for my birthday, which was the Canon Rebel T3I, it came with lenses...that were NOT stablized! So back it went! I really want a EOS 7D I think it is.. but for now I have the new Canon T4i... It has a touch screen to focus.. Not sure I like that..
Kym Backland
JOE, Thanks so much for the feature of my recently uploaded photo TOWHEE KEEPS WATCH ON HIGH in your group WINGS! Thanks so much!
Ronda Broatch
Nice catch!
Kym Backland replied:
Ronda, Thanks! I finally got my new camera, and was excited to finally get some clear photos... thanks for stopping by as often as you do!