Birds of the Undergrowth

Attract eastern towhees from the edge of the forest into your backyard

BY RACHEL MAIDL

“I was able to capture this amazing photo when this male eastern towhee landed in the tree right outside my living room window.”Carrie Markel WARNERVILLE, NY A flurry of flying leaves and bursts of rusty orange feathers are usually the first signs of an eastern towhee’s presence. According to Ryan Brady, conservation biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, these birds can be tough to spot because of their foraging habits. He says, “Often they’re on the ground scratching for food, so they’re hidden.” Towhees are generally solitary birds that haunt the undergrowth and thick shrubbery. You’ll spot them close to the forest floor, on the hunt for seeds, insects and arthropods. But what makes them hard to spot also makes them easy to identify. If you see a sparrow sized bird with…

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Birds & Blooms (Digital) - 1 Issue, April/May 2025

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