Eastern Towhee
Learn to identify the Eastern Towhee by ear. Master the "drink-your-tea-eee" phrase and tell it apart from similar species.
What the Eastern Towhee sounds like
A loud, musical series of notes often rendered as 'drink-your-tea' or 'drink your teeeee'. It typically starts with one or two short introductory notes ("drink") and ends with a fast trill or high-pitched note ("tea!"). Males sing from elevated perches within brushy habitats, especially in spring and early summer. Each male's song can vary slightly, but the pattern of a few clear notes followed by a trill is consistent.
How to tell it apart
Where you'll hear it
Year-round in the Southeast; northern populations migrate south for winter.
Dense brushy areas, woodland edges, overgrown fields, and forest edges with thick understory.
Males sing from exposed perches during the spring and summer nesting season. Northern birds move south in fall, while many southern birds stay year-round; in winter they feed quietly in brush and leaf litter.
How to recognize it by sight
Robin-sized sparrow-like bird (about 8 inches). Males have a jet-black head, throat, and upperparts, rufous-orange sides, and a white belly. Females have the same pattern but the black is replaced with warm brown.
Similar species
Spotted Towhee
The western counterpart of the Eastern Towhee. Visually very similar in having black (or brown) upperparts with rufous sides, but Spotted Towhees have conspicuous white spots on their back and wing feathers. Spotted Towhee males also have white spots or streaks on their back, whereas Eastern Towhees have solid-colored backs with no white spotting. Range is separate (Spotted in the West, Eastern in the East) except for some plains states where their ranges meet. In overlapping areas, differences in plumage (spots) and slight differences in song can distinguish them.
Brown Thrasher
A larger bird (11-12 inches) that also skulks in brushy areas and has rufous upperparts. However, Brown Thrashers have a very long tail, a streaked (not clear white) breast, and a distinctive yellow eye. Their bill is longer and curved. They often dig in leaf litter similar to towhees, but their size and shape (slender with a much longer tail) sets them apart. Also, Brown Thrashers have two white wing bars, which towhees lack.