View source for Spotted towhee

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2014}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Pipilo maculatus 2.jpg
|status = LC
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Pipilo maculatus'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T103772680A95006324 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T103772680A95006324.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
|genus = Pipilo
|species = maculatus
|authority = [[William Swainson|Swainson]], 1827
|range_map = Pipilo maculatus map.svg
| range_map_caption = {{leftlegend|#FF7F2A|Breeding}}{{leftlegend|#7137C8|Year-round}}{{leftlegend|#5F8DD3|Nonbreeding}}{{leftlegend|#87CDDE|Nonbreeding (scarce)}}
}}

The '''spotted towhee''' ('''''Pipilo maculatus''''') is a large [[American sparrow|New World sparrow]]. The taxonomy of the towhees has been debated in recent decades, and until 1995 this bird and the [[eastern towhee]] were considered a single species, then named '''rufous-sided towhee'''.<ref name="r9" /> Another outdated name for the spotted towhee is the '''Oregon towhee''' (particularly for the subspecies ''Pipilo maculatus oregonus''). The call may be harsher and more varied than for the eastern towhee.

==Description==
[[File:SpottedTowhee-24JAN2017.jpg|alt=Spotted Towhee female|thumb|left|224x224px|Female in [[Sacramento, California]].]] The spotted towhee is a large [[American sparrow|New World sparrow]], roughly the same size as a [[gray catbird]]. It has a long, dark, fan-shaped tail with white corners on the end. It has a round body (similar to [[American sparrow|New World sparrows]]) with bright red eyes and dull pink legs. The spotted towhee is between {{Convert|17|cm|in|abbr=on}} and {{Convert|21|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, and weighs in at between {{Convert|33|g|oz|abbr=on}} and {{Convert|49|g|oz|abbr=on}}.<ref name="r10"/> It has a wingspan of {{Convert|28|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name="r10"/>

Adult males have a generally darker head, upper body and tail with a white belly, [[rufous]] sides, white spots on their back and white wing bars. Females look similar but are dark brown and grey instead of black. The spotted towhee has white spots on its primary and secondary feathers; the [[eastern towhee]] is the same in terms of its size and structure but does not have white spots,<ref name="r10"/> though does have a white base on the primary feathers, absent in spotted towhee.<ref name="Sibley"/>

==Distribution and habitat==
The spotted towhee lives in dry [[Upland and lowland|upland]] forests,<ref name="r2" /> open forests, brushy fields, and chaparrals. It breeds across north-western North America and is present year-round in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and southern British Columbia.<ref name="r12" /> It is not found in arid climates and as a result does not reside in the [[Sonoran Desert]], but resides in northern Arizona and the entirety of California except the southeast corner that borders Arizona. It has also been known to expand as far eastward as western Iowa and southwestern Minnesota. It also occurs in fringe [[Wetland|wetland forests]] and [[Riparian zone|riparian forests]] near the border of upland forests.<ref name="r2" /> Because the spotted towhee's habitat overlaps with areas of the United States that experience regular forest fires ([[Arizona]], [[New Mexico]], [[California]]), it tends to be found in unburned [[chaparral]] and avoids chaparral and forests which have been burned<ref name="r6" /><ref name="r5" /> due to lack of ground cover and minimal foraging ability. Spotted towhees will be present in an area that is recovering after a burn (less than 15 years old),<ref name="r7" /> due to excellent ground cover and ease of ground foraging from the recovering understory vegetation,<ref name="r6" /> although populations will decrease after a forest fire until the vegetation has grown back.<ref name="r8" />
[[File:Spotted_Towhee_Sitting.jpg|thumb|Spotted towhee at Vasona Park]]
Its breeding habitat in the southwest is largely dependent on [[coastal sage scrub]], as it provides cover from predators.<ref name="r4" /> It migrates to northern and northwestern United States and southwestern Canada to breed in scrubland, parks and suburban gardens.<ref name="r12" /> Northwestern birds [[bird migration|migrate]] eastwards to the central [[plain]]s of the United States, mostly the northwestern-central [[Great Plains]]. In other areas, some birds may move to lower elevations in the winter. Their breeding habitat is [[chaparral]], thickets or shrubby areas across western North America. Spotted towhee [[hybrid (biology)|hybridizes]] with [[eastern towhee]] where their ranges overlap in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] (mainly in Nebraska, and North and South Dakota),<ref name="Sibley"/> and with [[collared towhee]] where their ranges overlap in southwestern Mexico.

==Taxonomy==
A total of 21 [[subspecies]] are accepted:<ref name="IOC"/>
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
*''Pipilo maculatus oregonus''
*''Pipilo maculatus falcifer''
*''Pipilo maculatus megalonyx''
*''Pipilo maculatus clementae''
*''Pipilo maculatus umbraticola''
*''Pipilo maculatus consobrinus''
*''Pipilo maculatus magnirostris''
*''Pipilo maculatus curtatus''
*''Pipilo maculatus falcinellus''
*''Pipilo maculatus arcticus''
*''Pipilo maculatus montanus''
*''Pipilo maculatus gaigei''
*''Pipilo maculatus griseipygius''
*''Pipilo maculatus orientalis''
*''Pipilo maculatus maculatus''
*''Pipilo maculatus vulcanorum''
*''Pipilo maculatus oaxacae''
*''Pipilo maculatus chiapensis''
*''Pipilo maculatus repetens''
*''Pipilo maculatus macronyx''
*''Pipilo maculatus socorroensis''
{{div col end}}

Individuals in the [[Socorro Island]] population ''P. m. socorroensis'' are smaller than other spotted towhees, and show distinctive gray upper-parts. That population is sometimes treated as a species, the '''Socorro towhee''' (''Pipilo socorroensis'').<ref name="r10"/>

<gallery>
File:SpottedTowheeChannelIslands.jpg|''p.m. megalonyx'' on [[Santa Cruz Island]]
</gallery>

==Behavior==
===Breeding and nesting===
[[File:Pipilo_maculatus_in_Stanley_Park.jpg|thumb|left|Spotted towhees forage on the ground or in low vegetation.]] They nest either on the ground or low in bushes, seldom more than {{convert|1.5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} above the ground<ref name="r1" /> and most nests are around {{convert|40|cm|ft|abbr=on}} above the ground.<ref name="r3" /> The location for the nests is usually found in exposed areas, but conceal the nest as it is being built.<ref name="r11"/> The female builds the nest over a period of about five days. It is bulky and sturdily made of leaves, strips of bark, twigs, [[forb]] stalks, and grasses, lined with pine needles, shredded [[Bark (botany)|bark]], grass, and sometimes hair. It is usually {{Convert|4.5|in|cm|order=flip|abbr=on}} in diameter with an inner ring of {{Convert|2.5|in|cm|order=flip|abbr=on}} to {{Convert|4|in|cm|order=flip|abbr=on}}. The nests are built so the rim is at ground level and the nest is {{Convert|2.5|in|cm|order=flip|abbr=on}} deep.

At least two [[Offspring|brood]]s, consisting of three to five eggs, are laid per season. The [[Bird egg|egg]] shells are grayish or creamy-white, sometimes with a tinge of green, with reddish brown spots that can form a wreath or cap. The eggs are slightly oblong, with their dimensions being {{Convert|2|cm|in|abbr=on}} to {{Convert|2.6|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and {{Convert|1.7|cm|in|abbr=on}} to {{Convert|1.9|cm|in|abbr=on}} wide. The female incubates the eggs alone for 12 to 14 days; the young leave the nest at 10 to 12 days. Nests are parasitized by cowbirds.

===Diet===
[[File:Spotted towhee gets anise swallowtail caterpillar.webm|thumb|A spotted towhee finds a [[Papilio zelicaon|anise swallowtail]] caterpillar to return to its nest and feed to its young.]]

These birds forage on the ground or in low vegetation,<ref name="r9" /><ref name="r11"/> with a habit of noisily rummaging through dry leaves searching for food. During the breeding season (spring and summer) they mainly eat [[insect]]s, ground dwelling beetles, [[spider]]s and other arthropods that reside in the [[leaf litter]] that is foraged by the spotted towhee. They only eat protein rich food in the breeding season, and in the fall and winter they focus on foraging for [[acorn]]s, [[seed]]s, oats, and [[Berry|berries]].<ref name="r11"/> They will frequent bird feeders if present in their woodland habitat.

===Threats===
Their main predators in less developed areas are [[Colubridae|ground dwelling snakes]] because nests are built on the ground. There is a strong relationship between the number of snakes that a nest encounters and the lowered probability of young chicks fledgling.<ref name="r4" /> In developed areas and habitat near urban development their main predators are household cats.<ref name="r11"/>

{{Listen|filename=Pipilo maculatus - Spotted Towhee - XC104528.ogg |title=Spotted towhee song|description=Spotted towhee singing in the [[Black Hills]] of [[South Dakota]], with [[western meadowlark]] in the background}}

==References==
{{Reflist|35em|refs=
<ref name="r1">{{cite web|url=http://sdplantatlas.org/birdatlas/pdf/Spotted%20Towhee.pdf|title=Spotted Towhee ''Pipilo maculatus''|publisher=San Diego Natural History Museum|access-date=16 April 2019}}</ref>

<ref name="r2">{{cite journal|author1=Lehmkuhl, John F. |author2=E. Dorsey Burger |year=2007|title=Breeding Birds in Riparian and Upland Dry Forests of the Cascade Range |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management|volume= 71|issue=8|pages= 2632–2643|jstor=4496384|url=https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/journals/pnw_2007_lehmkuhl001.pdf|doi=10.2193/2007-004|bibcode=2007JWMan..71.2632L |s2cid=84709085 }}</ref>

<ref name="r3">{{cite journal|author1=Small, Stacy L. |author2=Frank R. Thompson |year=2007|title=Spotted Towhee Population Dynamics in a Riparian Restoration Context|journal=The Condor|volume= 109|issue=4|pages= 721–733|jstor=40072320|url=https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/jrnl/2007/nrs_2007_small_001.pdf|doi=10.1093/condor/109.4.721|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name="r4">{{cite journal|author1=Patten, Michael A. |author2=Douglas T. Bolger |year=2003|title=Variation in Top-Down Control of Avian Reproductive Success across a Fragmentation Gradient |journal= Oikos|volume= 101|issue=3|pages= 479–488|jstor=3547774|url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c6e8/039195ad428daa9604cec4aea4e56fe37dc9.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417171241/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c6e8/039195ad428daa9604cec4aea4e56fe37dc9.pdf |archive-date=2019-04-17 |doi=10.1034/j.1600-0706.2003.12515.x|bibcode=2003Oikos.101..479P |s2cid=43938282 }}</ref>

<ref name="r5">{{cite journal|author1=Carl E. Bock |author2=William M. Block |year=2005|title=Variation in Top-Down Control of Avian Reproductive Success across a Fragmentation Gradient |journal= Studies in Avian Biology|issue=30|pages= 14–32|url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/sab/sab_030.pdf}}</ref>

<ref name="r6">{{cite journal|author1=Kathryn L. Purcell |author2=Scott L. Stephens|year=2005|title=Changing Fire Regimes and the Avifauna of California Oak Woodlands |journal=Studies in Avian Biology|issue=30|pages= 33–45|url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/sab/sab_030.pdf}}</ref>

<ref name="r7">{{cite journal|author1=Kirkpatrick, Chris |author2=Courtney J. Conway|year=2006|title=Distribution and Relative Abundance of Forest Birds in Relation to Burn Severity in Southeastern Arizona |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management|volume=70|issue=4|pages= 1005–1012|url=https://cals.arizona.edu/research/azfwru/cjc/publications/Journal_Articles/2006/Kirkpatrick_et_al-2006-JWM_70_1005-1012.pdf|doi=10.2193/0022-541x(2006)70[1005:daraof]2.0.co;2}}</ref>

<ref name="r8">{{cite journal|author1=Bagne, Karen E. |author2=Kathryn L. Purcell |year=2011|title=Short-Term Responses of Birds to Prescribed Fire in Fire-Suppressed Forests of California |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management|volume=75|issue=5|pages= 1051–1060|url=https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/purcell/psw_2011_purcell002(bagne).pdf|doi=10.1002/jwmg.128|bibcode=2011JWMan..75.1051B |s2cid=86523703}}</ref>

<ref name="r9">{{cite journal|author1=Davis, John |year=1957|title=Comparative Foraging Behavior of the Spotted and Brown Towhees |journal=The Auk|volume=74|issue=2|pages= 129–166|url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v074n02/p0129-p0166.pdf|doi=10.2307/4081708|jstor=4081708}}</ref>

<ref name="r10">{{cite web|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Spotted_Towhee/id|title=Spotted towhee Identification|publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology}}</ref>

<ref name="r11">{{cite web|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Spotted_Towhee/lifehistory|title=Spotted towhee Life History|publisher=Cornell Lab or Ornithology}}</ref>

<ref name="r12">{{cite web|last1=Ryder |first1=J M |title=Spotted Towhee |url=https://www.birdatlas.bc.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=SPTO&lang=en |website=The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of British Columbia, 2008-2012 |access-date=12 May 2019}}</ref>

<ref name="IOC">{{cite web | title=New World sparrows, bush tanagers – IOC World Bird List | website=IOC World Bird List – Version 15.1 | date=2025-02-20 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/sparrows/ | access-date=2025-08-28}}</ref>

<ref name="Sibley">{{cite book | last=Sibley | first=David | title=The North American Bird Guide | publisher=Christopher Helm Publishers, Incorporated | publication-place=Mountfield Robertsbridge | date=2000 | isbn=1-873403-98-4 | page=474 }}</ref>

}}
<!-- AnnuRevEcolSyst27;83; BullAMNH48:1; Condor7:134;10:101;58:107 Guadalupe population extinct c. 1900, NOT found in 1897, but survey not all too thorough (only 1 caracara found, but at least half a dozen must have been still extant) -->

==External links==
{{Commons|Pipilo maculatus|the spotted towhee}}
{{Wikispecies|Pipilo maculatus}}
*[https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Spotted_Towhee/ Spotted towhee species account] – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
*[https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i5880id.html Spotted towhee – ''Pipilo maculatus''] – USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
* {{InternetBirdCollection|spotted-towhee-pipilo-maculatus|Spotted towhee}}
* {{VIREO|Spotted+Towhee|Spotted towhee}}
* {{IUCN_Map|22729113|Pipilo maculatus}}

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==Further reading==
===Book===
*Greenlaw, J. S. 1996. ''Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)''. In ''The Birds of North America'', No. 263 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
===Thesis===
*Bagne KE. Ph.D. (2006). ''The effects of prescribed burning in the spring on avian communities in the Sierra Nevada of California''. University of California, Riverside, United States, California. 
*Khanna H. Ph.D. (2000). ''Signal design: Songs of two sister species of birds, the Eastern Towhee and the Spotted Towhee''. The Ohio State University, United States, Ohio. 
*Smith GT. Ph.D. (1996). ''Seasonal plasticity in the avian song control system''. University of Washington, United States, Washington. 
===Articles===
*Ball RM, Jr. & Avise JC. (1992). "Mitochondrial DNA phylogeographic differentiation among avian populations and the evolutionary significance of subspecies". ''Auk''. vol '''109''', no 3. pp. 626–636.
*Berry ME & Bock CE. (1998). "Effects of habitat and landscape characteristics on avian breeding distributions in Colorado foothills shrub". ''The Southwestern Naturalist''. vol '''43''', no 4. pp. 453–461.
*Bulluck L, Fleishman E, Betrus C & Blair R. (2006). "Spatial and temporal variations in species occurrence rate affect the accuracy of occurrence models". ''Global Ecology & Biogeography''. vol '''15''', no 1. pp. 27–38.
*Chambers CL & McComb WC. (1997). "Effects of silvicultural treatments on wintering bird communities in the Oregon coast range". ''Northwest Science''. vol '''71''', no 4. pp. 298–304.
*Elekonich MM. (2000). "Female song sparrow, ''Melospiza melodia'', response to simulated conspecific and heterospecific intrusion across three seasons". ''Animal Behaviour''. vol '''59''', pp. 551–557.
*Erickson WR. (2004). "Bird communities of the garry oak habitat in southwestern British Columbia". ''Canadian Field-Naturalist'' vol '''118''', no 3. pp. 376–385.
*Gardali T, Holmes AL, Small SL, Nur N, Geupel GR & Golet GH. (2006). "Abundance patterns of landbirds in restored and remnant riparian forests on the Sacramento River, California, USA". ''Restoration Ecology''. vol '''14''', no 3. pp. 391–403.
*Gardali T & Nur N. (2006). "Site-specific survival of Black-Headed Grosbeaks and spotted towhees at four sites within the Sacramento Valley, California". ''The Wilson Journal of Ornithology''. vol '''118''', no 2. pp. 178–186.
*Greenlaw JS & Engstrom RT. (2001). "First record of Spotted Towhee in Florida". ''Florida Field Naturalist''. vol '''29''', no 1. pp. 26–28.
*Odell EA & Knight RL. (2001). "Songbird and medium-sized mammal communities associated with exurban development in Pitkin County, Colorado". ''Conservation Biology''. vol '''15''', no 4. pp. 1143–1150.
*Patten MA & Bolger DT. (2003). "Variation in top-down control of avian reproductive success across a fragmentation gradient". ''Oikos''. vol '''101''', no 3. pp. 479–488.
*Silkey M, Nur N & Geupel GR. (1999). "The use of mist-net capture rates to monitor annual variation in abundance: A validation study". ''Condor''. vol '''101''', no 2. pp. 288–298.
*Small SL. (2005). "Mortality factors and predators of spotted Towhee nests in the Sacramento Valley, California". ''Journal of Field Ornithology''. vol '''76''', no 3. pp. 252–258.
*Sopuck L, Ovaska K & Whittington B. (2002). "Responses of songbirds to aerial spraying of the microbial insecticide ''Bacillus thuringiensis'' var. ''kurstaki'' (Foray 48B (R)) on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada". ''Environ Toxicol Chem.'' vol '''21''', no 8. pp. 1664–1672.
*Turley NJS & Holthuijzen AMA. (2005). "Impact of a catastrophic flooding event on riparian birds". ''Western North American Naturalist''. vol '''65''', no 2. pp. 274–277.
*Verner J, Breese D & Purcell KL. (2000). "Return rates of banded granivores in relation to band color and number of bands worn". ''Journal of Field Ornithology''. vol '''71''', no 1. pp. 117–125.
*Waldien DL, Cooley MM, Weikel J, Hayes JP, Maguire CC, Manning T & Maier TJ. (2004). "Incidental captures of birds in small-mammal traps: a cautionary note for interdisciplinary studies". ''Wildlife Society Bulletin''. vol '''32''', no 4. pp. 1260–1268.
*Zink RM, Weller SJ & Blackwell RC. (1998). "Molecular phylogenetics of the avian genus ''Pipilo'' and a biogeographic argument for taxonomic uncertainty". ''Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution''. vol '''10''', no 2. pp. 191–201.
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{{Pipilo}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1586862}}

[[Category:Pipilo|spotted towhee]]
[[Category:Native birds of Western Canada]]
[[Category:Native birds of the Western United States]]
[[Category:Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands]]
[[Category:Birds of Mexico]]
[[Category:Birds of the Sierra Madre Occidental]]
[[Category:Birds of the Sierra Madre Oriental]]
[[Category:Birds of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt]]
[[Category:Birds of Guatemala]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1827|spotted towhee]]
[[Category:Taxa named by William Swainson]]