[va-richmond-general] Unusual Towhee
- From: "Jim Blowers" <jimvb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:22:46 -0400
I think I found an unusual rufous-sided towhee out in our backyard. The
small bird book that we have (Peterson's East Birds) shows this bird with no
white marks on its back. I looked it up in Sibley, our other book, and it
said that the Eastern Towhee has no white marks on its back, but the western
bird, the Spotted Towhee, has white spots all over it. This bird we saw had
6 teardrop-shaped white spots near its rump, running in 3x2 formation along
its backbone, and the rest of the back black. This makes me think it is a
hybrid of the two varieties; that maybe it is an Eastern Towhee with Spotted
ancestry.
It is the first towhee of the season for us.
Jim Blowers
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