A towhee is any one of a number of species of birds in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Pipilo ''Pipilo'' is a genus of birds in the American sparrow family Passerellidae. It is one of two genera containing birds with the common name towhee. Taxonomy The genus ''Pipilo'' was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieill ...

'' or ''

Melozone ''Melozone'' is a genus of mostly Neotropical birds in the family Passerellidae, found mainly in Mexico. Three species reach as far north as the southwestern United States, two species reach as far south as Costa Rica, and two are endemic to Me ...

'' within the family

Passerellidae New World sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming the family Passerellidae. They are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns. Although they share t ...

(which also includes American sparrows, and

junco A junco , genus ''Junco'', is a small North American bird in the New World sparrow family Passerellidae. Junco systematics are still confusing after decades of research, with various authors accepting between three and twelve species. Despite ...

s). Towhees typically have longer tails than other Passerellidae. Most species tend to avoid humans, so they are not well known, though the

eastern towhee The eastern towhee (''Pipilo erythrophthalmus'') is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been under debate in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the spotted towhee were considered a single species, the rufous-sided ...

''P. erythrophthalmus'' is bolder. This species, and some others, may be seen in urban parks and gardens. There has been considerable debate over the

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

of the towhees in recent years. Two species complexes have been identified, the rufous-sided complex (involving ''Pipilo erythrophthalmus'', ''P. maculatus'', ''P. socorroensis'', ''P. ocai'' and ''P. chlorurus''), and the brown towhee complex (involving ''Melozone crissalis'', ''M. fuscus'', ''M. aberti'' and ''M. albicollis''). The distinction of species within these is uncertain and opinions have differed over the years. Modern authorities distinguish all four species in the brown towhee complex, though ''M. fuscus'' and ''M. crissalis'' were formerly treated as a single species. Hybrids are frequent between some of the species, particularly between the Mexican races of ''P. maculatus'' ("olive-backed towhee", ''P. m. macronyx'') and ''P. ocai''. Genus

: * Abert's towhee (''Melozone aberti'') * California towhee (''Melozone crissalis''), * Canyon towhee (''Melozone fusca'') *

White-throated towhee The white-throated towhee (''Melozone albicollis'') is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae that is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shr ...

(''Melozone leucotis'') Genus

: * Green-tailed towhee (''Pipilo chlorurus''), * Collared towhee (''Pipilo ocai''), *

Eastern towhee The eastern towhee (''Pipilo erythrophthalmus'') is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been under debate in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the spotted towhee were considered a single species, the rufous-sided ...

(''Pipilo erythrophthalmus''), *

Spotted towhee The spotted towhee (''Pipilo maculatus'') is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been debated in recent decades, and until 1995 this bird and the eastern towhee were considered a single species, the rufous-sided towhee. A ...

(''Pipilo maculatus''), * Bermuda towhee (''Pipilo naufragus'') — extinct

References

* * * {{cite journal, last=Olson, first= Storrs L., last2= Wingate, first2= David B. , year=2012, title=A new species of towhee (Aves: Emberizidae: ''Pipilo'') from the Quaternary deposits on Bermuda, journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, volume=125, issue=1, pages=85–96, doi=10.2988/11-21.1

External links

Towhee videos, photos and sounds
on the Internet Bird Collection Pipilo Melozone Bird common names