The Joy of Being Drab: California Towhee on the Tuolumne River

Can you see it?

Maybe we can look a little closer, with a bit of photoshopping...

There it is!

A lot of birds are very colorful for a variety of reasons, but others are rather drab. If you are a California Towhee (Melozone crissalis), your habitat is on the ground in the shrubs and chaparral, and I imagine that bright coloration might work against your continued survival in such environments where cats and foxes might be lurking (although that doesn't explain its close cousin, the Spotted Towhee).

The bird is a California native, practically an endemic species as long as one includes the Baja portion of landscape (and a very small piece of southern Oregon). I saw this one during my morning walk on the Tuolumne River flitting about in the thickets near the bottom of the dreaded stairway at the western end of the Parkway Trail (the 130 steps have become one of the most popular exercise spots in the town). I almost sent the picture at the top of this post to the recycle bin because I didn't see the bird right away. I would make a poor fox...

 The

A Near-California Endemic, the California Towhee on the Tuolumne River

Endemic that is, if we are talking about all of California, Alta and Baja, and also count a bit of southern Oregon. California doesn't have all that many true endemics, primarily the Yellow-Billed Magpie, and the Channel Islands Scrub Jay. It seems odd to me that this is so because of the great geographic barrier presented by the Sierra Nevada and Peninsular Range, as well as the harsh deserts that lie to the east. That's the way it is, but the California Towhee (Melozone crissalis) is an example of the isolation of a bird type that leads to speciation. There is a very similar bird that lives across the southwest, the Canyon Towhee, along with the Abert's Towhee. The Canyon was once considered that same as the California, but they are isolated from each other and have changed. There is also a very small population (~200 individuals) in the Argus Mountains near Death Valley (the Inyo California Towhee) that also show differences.

The California Towhee that I spied and photographed was hunting in the fig trees along the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail the other day. They are a large species of sparrow, and often hunt for seeds by scrabbling in the dirt, sparrow-style. That's what this one was doing until I bumbled along the trail and scared it up into the shrubs. But it was nice enough to pose for a few minutes.

California Towhee in Battle on the Tuolumne River

I got a single good shot of a California Towhee (Melozone crissalis) on my walk along the Tuolumne River the other day and it reminded me of a picture I got sometime back. The Towhees don't like competition, but they also misunderstand mirrors. I caught one last year in a vicious fight with himself at the water treatment plant. The picture looks like it's a mutual admiration society, but it kept striking at the image. I guess the nice thing is it can't lose, but it can't exactly win either.

The California Towhee is aptly named. Except for some populations in southern Oregon, it is a California endemic, with a range throughout California and Baja, but nowhere else (The Canyon Towhee is very similar and closely related, but inhabits the Four Corners states and Texas).

Bird of the Day: California Towhee on the Mokelumne River

It was a pretty good weekend for birds in the Sierra Nevada. Saw around six new species (for me, anyway), including the White-breasted Nuthatch from yesterday's post. Today's bird was a California Towhee (Melozone crissalis) on the Mokelumne River at the Highway 49 crossing. Actually the crossing was a new discovery for me, as I did not know there was a parking area with river access. How long has that been there?

The Towhee was singing and lurking in an oak tree overhead, and I wasted a few pixels trying to catch a shot, but then it jumped down onto the parking lot for a few moments. It finally hopped onto a boulder and posed against a colorful backdrop of dry weeds and fall foliage. 

California Towhees can be considered a California endemic if you consider both Baja and Alta California (range extends just a little into Oregon). They're common enough, apparently, but I've only just started at this, and this little one was the first to pose for me.