Eastern Towhee Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: Eastern Towhees are quite a common species in parts of southeastern South Dakota. As you can tell from the photos below, Newton Hills State Park certainly has plenty of Eastern Towhees in spring, summer, and fall. They're tricky though at Newton Hills! Not only are there Eastern Towhees there, but there are Spotted Towhees. The two have learned each other's songs! You can't count on identifying them by voice.

You certainly can identify them visually though. My favorite photo below is from Newton Hills on April 23rd, 2017.

Eastern Towhee - Pipilo erythrophthalmus


Eastern Towhee 1	Eastern Towhee 2	Eastern Towhee 3	Eastern Towhee 4
May 13th, 2006	May 13th, 2006	May 13th, 2006	May 13th, 2006
Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota
Male perched amidst new spring deciduous foliage	Male singing in fresh spring foliage	Male clambering through tree branches, foraging	Female sitting on fallen, lichen-covered log

Eastern Towhee 5	Eastern Towhee 6	Eastern Towhee 7	Eastern Towhee 8
May 16th, 2007	May 16th, 2007	July 13th, 2008	August 28th, 2009
Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota
Male perched on tree branch in forest habitat	Male in head-on view in eastern red cedar	Male in tree foliage on bright sunny afternoon	Male perched on eastern red cedar (juniper) with many berries

Eastern Towhee 9	Eastern Towhee 10	Eastern Towhee 11	Eastern Towhee 12
September 13th, 2009	May 28th, 2010	May 17th, 2011	May 17th, 2011
Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Big Sioux Recreation Area, South Dakota	Big Sioux Recreation Area, South Dakota
Scruffy looking, young, first-year male	Male singing its heart out on a fallen branch	Female perched on dead tree branch	Female perched on dead tree branch

Eastern Towhee 13	Eastern Towhee 14	Eastern Towhee 15	Eastern Towhee 16
October 5th, 2014	May 17th, 2013	April 23rd, 2017	April 23rd, 2017
Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota
Female perched in eastern red cedar (juniper) tree with blue berries	Profile of male singing on tree branch	Male posing in eastern red cedar in perfect morning light	Profile of male perched in eastern red cedar in perfect morning light

Eastern Towhee 17
May 5th, 2019
Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota
Spring male perched on the edge of a dead tree branch