White-throated Towhee

Overview

The white-throated towhee (Melozone albicollis) is a large sparrow in the family Passerellidae that is endemic to Mexico. It is classified as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN, with a stable population of at least 50,000 mature individuals that is considered common within its limited range.

Identification

• Plumage: Adults have brown upperparts and tail, a brown crown and nape, and a white supercilium above a blackish cheek stripe. The chin is white, the throat is rusty cinnamon, and the breast and belly are whitish mottled with gray, with cinnamon flanks. Juveniles resemble adults but have pale cinnamon wing bars and brownish mottling on the breast.
• Features: Both subspecies possess reddish irises, a dusky brown upper bill, and a paler brown lower bill.
• Legs: Horn-colored legs and feet.
• Song: Described as very high warbling that is strident in places, accelerating and rising in pitch, with a pattern like 'pirrup-pirrup-pirrup' or chipping notes ending in 'chi-i-ir'.

Habitat

This species inhabits pine-oak forests and montane shrub- and scrublands in the interior valleys of the Sierra Madre del Sur. It is a year-round resident found at elevations generally between 1,000 and 2,800 m, with the nominate subspecies ranging from eastern Guerrero to central Oaxaca and the M. a. marshalli subspecies located in southern Puebla and perhaps into eastern Guerrero.

Diet

Although its diet has not been specifically studied, it is assumed to be primarily seeds, supplemented by insects and fruit. The bird forages on the ground and in low vegetation.

Did you know?

The nest is constructed as a large cup from dry grass and lined with fine fibers, including hair, typically placed on the ground or in a low bush. The clutch consists of four eggs that are pale blue to whitish blue with dark brown or reddish spots.