A Female Towhee

May 1, 2025

This afternoon, a female Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) came by to take a dip in the birdbath.

I so seldom see a female Towhee that it took a moment for me to realize what it was. When males and females of the same species of birds are different in appearance like this, it is called sexual dimorphism.

And you know the mnemonic for Towhees, “Drink your tea?” The female rarely sings that song. I hear that so very often. I’ll have to figure out what song the female sings.

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Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.

2 thoughts on “A Female Towhee”

  1. I’never seen a female towhee. I will be on the lookout. I love seeing the males, though they don’t appear very often.

  2. The female responds to the males invitation with “martini please”!

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