Pipilo erythrophthalmus

photo, Dan Ryan

This fine feathered fellah is a Pipilo erythrophthalmus, or a male Eastern towhee, and one that we've never seen in our backyard ... until now. It's exciting to see a new bird! He was hopping around a few weeks back, picking on some seeds we'd left out. They generally hang out in low brush areas, thickets, and along forest edges where there’s plump bugs under leaf litter, but in the dead of winter when there's snow on the ground, they'll take any scraps they can get. Don't forget to feed the birds!