30 April 08
Canyon Towhee
One of the advantages of visiting a place with well-stocked feeders is that you can sketch birds you don’t ordinarily see easily and for hours. (One of the best parts about this trip for me was the ample opportunity for sketching birds, period.)
The canyon towhee looks very similar to California towhee but there are important differences. Not all the canyons we saw had a black chest spot, but the bird is overall duller and the pattern around the face and head, while subtle, is quite different. (The songs and calls are VERY different.)
I enjoyed this bird as much as seeing the flashy denizens of the Texas scrubland. It was a huge treat to sit for a long time and try and record it every time it came out, noticing this or that faint line in the throat or face.
Learning the bird: that’s why I do this.
Previous: The Dolorous Roadrunner Next: Montezuma Quail
That’s a great motto. I swear you will yet inspire me to try the “bird a day” sketching challenge.
Interesting that the canyon towhee is drab. The eastern towhee is one of our more distinctive looking yard birds.