Canyon Towhee

Brown or Canyon Towhee
Brown Towhee in a California garden
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Emberizidae Genus: Pipilo' Species: fuscus'
Binomial name
Pipilo fuscus

The Canyon Towheeor Brown Towhee, Pipilo fuscus, is a bird of the family Emberizidae, native to the coastal regions of the western Oregon and California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico, and to lower-lying areas of the south-western United States. Some authors place the towhees in the family Fringillidae.

The Canyon Towhee's natural habitat is brush or chaparral, but it adapts well to urban parks and gardens. However its skulking habits and nondescript appearance mean that it is not one of the better known garden birds. It is around 20-25cm in length, and has a noticeably long tail. It is earthy brown in color, with somewhat lighter underparts and a somewhat darker head and a slightly reddish area beneath the tail. There is little sexual dimorphism. In the southwestern states, the birds have a rufous cap.

The Canyon Towhee feeds on the ground or in low scrub rather than in the tree canopy.