its-j-l: [Backyard Bird Watching] California Towhee California…
Short, conical bill, streaked throat, long brown tail, and warm brown throat
This one wears a “bowtie” feather.
The reflected light from the bird bath shows the gorgeous color of warmer ruddy brown on the crissum.
[Backyard Bird Watching] California Towhee
California Towhees are essentially large sparrows, with a sparrow’s short, rounded wings, long tail, and thick, seed-cracking beak – but towhees are larger and bulkier, just slightly smaller than a robin.
California Towhee is gray-brown overall, with reddish brown undertail coverts. The colors camouflage the bird very well in the shade unless it’s in motion. I often first hear the California Towhee foraging on the ground before sighting,
especially among falling leaves.They are quite at home in our small backyards and neighborhood parks.
San Jose, Calif.
March 2016
Reposted from http://ift.tt/26F32vO.
Tags: the first bird I ever (mis) identified on my own, I was 8.
