tow·hee

(tō′hē, tō-hē′)

1. A songbird (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) of eastern North America having black, white, and rust-colored plumage in the male. Also called chewink.

2. Any of several similar birds of the genera Pipilo and Melozone, found in western North America.

[Imitative of the song of some of these birds.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

towhee

(ˈtaʊhɪ; ˈtəʊ-)

(Animals) any of various North American brownish-coloured sparrows of the genera Pipilo and Chlorura

[C18: imitative of its note]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

tow•hee

(ˈtaʊ hi, ˈtoʊ hi, ˈtoʊ i)

n.

any of several long-tailed North American finches of the genera Pipilo and Chlorura with a black back, rust-colored sides, and a white breast.

[1720–30, Amer.; imitative]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

towhee - any of numerous long-tailed American finches

finch - any of numerous small songbirds with short stout bills adapted for crushing seeds

cheewink, chewink, Pipilo erythrophthalmus - common towhee of eastern North America

Chlorura chlorura, green-tailed towhee - towhee of the Rocky Mountains

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References in periodicals archive

Several landbird species that were common in these 2 historical parks were absent or rare in data from the wilderness parks, such as White-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Orange-crowned Warbler, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Savannah Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Spotted Towhee, Purple Finch, and Red-winged Blackbird.

TRENDS IN LANDBIRD DENSITY AT TWO NATIONAL PARKS IN FRAGMENTED, MIXED-USE LANDSCAPES OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

I've been on the visiting end of backyard "stakeouts" several times, most recently this winter, when Warrenville homeowner Kate Hopkins hosted a spotted towhee. Her generosity enabled dozens of birders to experience a western species that for some was a new tick on the life list.

Backyard 'stakeouts' can produce rare bird sightings

Caption: A female eastern towhee with a white throated sparrow in the background.

Winter Bird Feeding & Field Guide

He served on board HM Trawler Towhee, converted into a minesweeper, spending much of the war on escort and patrol duty in the English Channel.

Killed on the last day of WW1: Poignant stories of soldiers hours from safety; It was the last day of WWI but for many the last day of their life too - more than 600 British service personal died on November 11, 1918, and here are a selection of 11 of their stories and how they died

Instead, he focuses on South Florida slash pine trees that he uses as navigational markers that are no longer standing, or the increasing rare sight of the Eastern Towhee, a large sparrow that used to be ubiquitous throughout the county.

CAN BIGGER BE BETTER? Unprecedented growth is reshaping the region, bringing more people, development, challenges--and opportunities, too

of detections All birds 210 American goldfinch Carduelis tristis 6 American robin Turdus migratorius 1 American tree sparrow Spizella arborea 30 Bewick's wren Thryomanes bewickii 2 Dark-eyed junco Junco hyemalis 1 Eastern meadowlark Sturnella magna 5 European starling Sturnus vulgaris 1 Field sparrow Spizella pusilla 6 Harris's sparrow Zonotrichia querula 4 Horned lark Eremophila alpestris 11 Lapland longspur Calcarius lapponicus 1 Loggerhead shrike Lanius ludovicianus 5 McCown's longspur Calcarius mccownii 1 Northern cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis 2 Rufous-crowned sparrow Aimophila ruficeps 5 Red-winged blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus 9 Song sparrow Melospiza melodia 6 Spotted towhee Pipilo maculatus 1 Unknown spp.

Wintering bird responses to the presence of artificial surface water in a semi-arid rangeland

Meri makes sense of this cooling by translating it into the bird world: "In the spring, the male towhee spends between seventy and ninety percent of his mornings singing.

Bad Choices

Examination of the original journal revealed that what Audubon was referring to was the towe bunting or the eastern towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus; Fig.

Audubon's "Iowa bunting" from Arkansas is an Eastern Towhee

Many species of warbler, scarlet tanager, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee and the wood thrush--Washington, D.C.'s official bird with the flute-like song--are among the most tuneful members of the avian spring chorus.

A capital transition: poetic imagery and striking photography take you through one of the most eloquent seasonal transitions in nature