{"id":299,"date":"2021-04-21T05:34:24","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T05:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rosecanyongarden.wordpress.com\/?page_id=299"},"modified":"2021-05-06T01:45:48","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T01:45:48","slug":"spotted-towhee","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.rosecanyon.org\/flora-fauna\/spotted-towhee\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotted Towhee"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo taken in Rose Canyon \u00a9 Karen Straus\/San Diego Audubon Society<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fun Facts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
  • The Spotted Towhee is very similar to the Eastern Towhee. They were once the same species, the Rufous-sided Towhee. They split into two distinct species because they were isolated from each other during an ice age.<\/li>
  • Male Spotted Towhees spend over 70% of their mornings during the mating season singing in order to attract a mate.<\/li>
  • Towhees use a special two-foot backwards scratch to uncover grubs and seeds.<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    Spotted Towhees are large sparrows that can be hard to find because they spend their time on the ground under bushes and trees looking for food. You might spot one if you listen for the scratching sound they make as they hop backward with both feet to stir up the dry leaf litter in search of seeds and invertebrates to eat. They live year-round in Rose Canyon, but the best time to find them is in spring during the breeding season when the males (like the one in this photo) perch in trees and call repeatedly to defend their territories and attract a mate. They make a dry trill like a piece of paper stuck in a bicycle wheel. Please keep your cat indoors. Spotted towhees build their nests on or near the ground, so housecats let outside prey on them. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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