Green-tailed Towhee
Green-tailed Towhee: Large sparrow, olive-green upperparts and pale gray underparts. Crown is rufous, throat is white with black stripes, and bill is gray. Wings and tail are edged with olive-yellow. Rapid bouncy flight, alternates several quick wing beats with wings pulled to sides.
● Song:
"swee-too weet chur cheee-churr"
● Foraging & Feeding:
Green-tailed Towhee: Feeds primarily on insects; also eats seeds and berries. Forages on the ground by double-scratching under foliage; drinks morning dew from leaves.
● Breeding & nesting:
Green-tailed Towhee: Two to five white eggs flecked with brown are laid in a deep, bulky, thick-walled cup nest made of sticks, bark chips, and grass, and lined with hair and fine plant material. Incubation ranges from 11 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.
● Similar species:
Green-tailed Towhee: Olive Sparrow is smaller and has a brown-striped crown.
● Range & Habitat:
Green-tailed Towhee: Breeds from central Oregon south through mountains to southern California and Great Basin to southeastern New Mexico. Spends winters at lower elevations and south to southern Arizona and central and southern Texas; also migrates to Mexico. Preferred habitats include dry scrublands, primarily scrub oak, mountain mahogany, sagebrush, saltbrush, serviceberry, and pinyon-juniper.