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

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 Pierre Vieillot in ...

'' or ''

Melozone ''Melozone'' is a genus of mostly Neotropical realm, 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 ...

'' 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 th ...

(which also includes

American sparrow 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 th ...

s 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. Desp ...

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''), also known as chewink, joree, or joree bird, is a large American sparrow, New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been under debate in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the spo ...

''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 image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...

of towhees. 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. fusca'', ''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. fusca'' 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 Abert's towhee (''Melozone aberti'') is a bird of the family Passerellidae, native to a small range in southwestern North America, generally the lower Colorado River and Gila River watersheds, nearly endemic to Arizona, but also present in small ...

(''Melozone aberti'') *

California towhee The California towhee (''Melozone crissalis'') is a bird of the family Passerellidae, native to the coastal regions of western Oregon and California in the United States and Baja California and Baja California Sur in Mexico. The taxonomy of this ...

(''Melozone crissalis''), *

Canyon towhee The canyon towhee (''Melozone fusca'') is a bird of the family Passerellidae. Until 1989, the canyon towhee and the California towhee were considered to be a single species which was called the brown towhee. Taxonomy The taxonomy of the group ...

(''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 shrub ...

(''Melozone leucotis'') Genus

: *

Green-tailed towhee The green-tailed towhee (''Pipilo chlorurus'') is the smallest towhee, but is still one of the larger members of the American sparrow family Passerellidae. Its breeding range covers most of the interior Western United States, with a winter ran ...

(''Pipilo chlorurus''), *

Collared towhee The collared towhee (''Pipilo ocai'') is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae that is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist pine-oak montane forest and heavily degraded former forest. It occupies mou ...

(''Pipilo ocai''), *

Eastern towhee The eastern towhee (''Pipilo erythrophthalmus''), also known as chewink, joree, or joree bird, is a large American sparrow, New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been under debate in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the spo ...

(''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. ...

(''Pipilo maculatus''), *

Bermuda towhee The Bermuda towhee (''Pipilo naufragus'') is an extinct bird of the towhee genus ''Pipilo'' that was endemic to Bermuda. Taxonomy It was a large member of the genus and closely related to the eastern towhee. The scientific description was in 2 ...

(''Pipilo naufragus'') —

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

References

* * * {{cite journal, last1=Olson, first1= 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