RUFOUS-SIDED TOWHEE
PR

There is small wonder that one of the many names of the towhee is ground robin. A casual glance immediately picks up the cinnamon red apron usually associated with a robin, but here the resemblance stops. A hangman's hood of black covers the bird's head and extends far down over the shoulders and back. Also clearly visible when the bird flies are the white flashings on the winds and tail feathers.

When the bird scratches on the ground for food, it does so in the manner of a domesticated hen, first scratching with one foot and then sending leaves flying with the other. When several towhees are feeding in the same area, the sound and appearance of their scratching resembles that of a flock of wild turkeys.

The bird is an excellent ventriloquist; many observers have had to search for it several minutes before finally locating it in open view just a few feet away.

The towhee builds its nest on the ground, usually in a thicket of bushes of high grass. Although the nest is always well hidden, the colorful bird is a frequent victim of the parasitic cowbird that has no compunction about laying from one to four eggs in the chosen nest. Sad to say, in most cases the towhee raises the cowbird's young together with its own.

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