Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)

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Abundance: Fairly Common during all seasons; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the trend for the Regional breeding population is probably stable, but data regarding the migratory portion of the population wintering in the Region are too few to determine a trend in that population (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; part of the population present during winter is comprised of individuals that are Winter Resident only; photograph [lateral view of female] (Stephen J. Stedman; City Lake, Putnam County, Tennessee; 11 February 2012); photograph [lateral view of male] (Stephen J. Stedman; City Lake, Putnam County, Tennessee; 11 February 2012); photograph [lateral view of juvenile] (DJ Stanley; Cumberland County, Tennessee; May 2007).

Regional High Count and SBC/SBB High Count: 248 (12 May 2007; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.); CBC/CBB HIgh Count: 128 (18 December 1976; Putnam County, Tennessee [Cookeville CBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 61 (16 September 2006; Putnam County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 86 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 159 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, leading to a YardWatch frequency classification of Common each year; this YardWatch frequency classification is somewhat inconsistent with the overall Regional abundance classification, indicating, quite expectedly, that the towhee is more likely to be encountered in Regional yards and neighborhoods than in the Region as a whole.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: Part of the wintering population is represented by migrants from the north, as evidenced by a male towhee that was banded 2 May 1990 in Ontario, Canada, and found road-killed on Rt. 70N in eastern Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee, 14 April 1991 (Stedman 1993).  Of the towhees present during winter, no means of calculating the part of the wintering population that is Winter Resident only, rather than Permanent Resident, is known, but solving for this unknown factor would make for an interesting project for some future field workers in the Region.

    The Eastern Towhee and the Spotted Towhee of western North American were once considered to be two subspecies of the Rufous Towhee, but that species was later split into two species (AOU 1998).

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited