I thought it was a black-headed grosbeak. Until I looked at images online.
This is not a grosbeak at all! The white underbelly, rufous flanks, black head and bright white spots on jet black wings gave it away. It's a spotted Towhee.
Found in the west, these beautiful birds are sassy, brave, and somewhat friendly.
This particular visitor was gobbling as many withering grapes as he could find where the vines climbed only two weeks ago.
I enjoyed the company of this friendly Spotted Towhee for several days. It got down to 20 degrees the last couple of nights and I haven't seen him. It's supposed to warm up again. Maybe tomorrow?
We've been loving having spotted towhees around for as long as I can remember. New to your yard? Michael affectionately calls them eewhats. There are also canyon (brown) towhees about; similar behavior, ground feeders but not as colorful and showy.
ReplyDelete