Eastern Towhee

Eastern Towhees breed in eastern North America, while Spotted Towhees breed in the West. Their breeding ranges overlap, and the species hybridize, along the Missouri and Platte rivers and in a few other locations. I have seen a Spotted Towhee only once in Minnesota. In Aberdeen, in northeastern South Dakota, I banded both species, but caught Spotted Towhees most often.

Their winter ranges overlap widely in eastern Texas. This overlap explains why Erika and I saw this Eastern Towhee on 17 March 2016 at the Ray Roberts Lake State Park near Denton, Texas. But, on 15 February 2014 we listed a Spotted Towhee at the same location.