Green-Tailed Towhee (Pipilo chlorurus)Green- tailed Towhees are around 7-7.5 inches (17-19 cm) and are a grayish color with olive-yellow wings, back and tail. They have a rufous crown, reddish or brown in color, and a white throat with a dark “mustache” strip in either side of their beak. The Green-tailed Towhee lives in dryer climates in hillsides, shrublands or riparian (river) areas between 10-12,000 feet (3048-3660 m) of elevation. They find their food by scratching at the ground and finding seeds and small insects.Fun facts:The Green-tailed Towhee can make a call that sounds like a catlike mew. 
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)The Spotted Towhee is about 7 in (17 cm) long and has a wingspan of 13.5 in (34 cm). This bird has a striking coloration with a white-spotted black back and rump, a black chest, white belly and the sides are reddish-brown. The most distinctive feature of this bird is its red eyes surrounded by black plumage. These sparrows live in dry thickets, the edges of forests, and in canyon bottoms that have dense shrub cover. The preferred diet of the Spotted Towhee are insects, acorns, berries, and seeds. They also can eat crops such as oats, wheat, corn, and cherries. Fun fact: Spotted Towhees often are seen hopping around and scratching at the ground or vegetation. When it finds food, it will pounce on it. When two Spotted Towhees are fighting, if one sparrow picks up a twig, piece of bark, or leaf and begins to carry it around, it is considered submissive behavior toward the more dominant sparrow. 
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)A medium sized sparrow (length of 5.6-6.3 inches), with a rounded head, stout pink bill and relatively long tail. Dark-eyed Juncos have a huge range of geographic color variations, but in the southern Utah area, the most commonly seen is the red-backed form with a bright reddish coloration on its back. They breed in coniferous or mixed-coniferous forests and you can generally find them hopping around the bases of trees and shrubs foraging for fallen seeds.
Fun facts: Dark-eyed Juncos range in color from the slate colored junco of the eastern U.S. to the "Oregon" junco with its dark hood and rufous flanks. While those are most common, other variations include "white-winged", "pink-sided" and "gray-headed". 
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)Slender, fairly long-tailed sparrow with a bill that is smaller in size than most other sparrows. In summer it has a pale face, black line through the eye and a bright rusty-red colored crown. In winter, it is more of a subdued buff brown with a darkly streaked underside. They can be found in woodlands and forests near grassy clearings hopping or running on the ground looking for seeds. They are commonly seen singing from treetops, most commonly, evergreens. In fact, their loud songs are the most common bird call you will hear in woodlands around springtime.Fun facts: A Chipping sparrow's nest is built in such a flimsy way that light can be seen through it and probably provides very little insulation to their young. |
Last updated: August 20, 2024