Towhee

2025-06-20T20:41:10Z

2607:F010:2A7:3021:5110:65F8:EAD7:F915: White-throated Towhee (Melozone albicollis) was mislabelled, using the scientific name of the White-eared Ground Sparrow (Melozone leucotis)

{{Short description|Common name for a type of small bird}}
[[File:Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus).jpg|thumb|[[Spotted towhee]] (''Pipilo maculatus'')|alt=]]

A '''towhee''' is any one of a number of species of birds in the [[genus]] ''[[Pipilo]]'' or ''[[Melozone]]'' within the family [[Passerellidae]] (which also includes [[American sparrow]]s and [[junco]]s).

Towhees typically have longer tails than other Passerellidae. Most species tend to avoid humans, so they are not well-known, though the [[eastern towhee]] ''P. erythrophthalmus'' is bolder. This species, and some others, may be seen in urban parks and gardens.

There has been considerable debate over the [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomy]] of towhees. Two species complexes have been identified, the rufous-sided complex (involving ''Pipilo erythrophthalmus'', ''P. maculatus'', ''P. socorroensis'', ''P. ocai'' and ''P. chlorurus''), and the brown towhee complex (involving ''Melozone crissalis'', ''M. fusca'', ''M. aberti'' and ''M. albicollis''). The distinction of species within these is uncertain and opinions have differed over the years. Modern authorities distinguish all four species in the brown towhee complex, though ''M. fusca'' and ''M. crissalis'' were formerly treated as a single species. Hybrids are frequent between some of the species, particularly between the Mexican races of ''P. maculatus'' ("olive-backed towhee", ''P. m. macronyx'') and ''P. ocai''.

'''Genus [[Melozone]]:'''
* [[Abert's towhee]] (''Melozone aberti'')
* [[California towhee]] (''Melozone crissalis''),
* [[Canyon towhee]] (''Melozone fusca'')
* [[White-throated towhee]] (''Melozone albicollis'')

'''Genus [[Pipilo]]:'''
* [[Green-tailed towhee]] (''Pipilo chlorurus''),
* [[Collared towhee]] (''Pipilo ocai''),
* [[Eastern towhee]] (''Pipilo erythrophthalmus''),
* [[Spotted towhee]] (''Pipilo maculatus''),
* [[Bermuda towhee]] (''Pipilo naufragus'') — [[extinct]]

== References ==
* {{cite web |title=ITIS Report: ''Pipilo'' |url=https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=179275 |accessdate=5 August 2013 |publisher=[[Integrated Taxonomic Information System]]}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Zink|first1= Robert M.|last2= Dittmann|first2= Donna L. |year=1991|title=Evolution of Brown Towhees: Mitochondrial DNA Evidence|journal=Condor|volume=93|issue=1|pages=98–105|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v093n01/p0098-p0105.pdf|doi=10.2307/1368611|jstor= 1368611}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Olson|first1= Storrs L.|last2= Wingate|first2= David B. |year=2012|title=A new species of towhee (Aves: Emberizidae: ''Pipilo'') from the Quaternary deposits on Bermuda|journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington|volume=125|issue=1|pages=85–96|doi=10.2988/11-21.1}}

==External links==
*[http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/buntings-seedeaters-allies-emberizidae Towhee videos, photos and sounds] on the Internet Bird Collection

[[Category:Pipilo]]
[[Category:Melozone]]
[[Category:Bird common names]]

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Towhee