California Towhee

The California towhee (Melozone crissalis) is a bird of the family Passerellidae, native to the coastal regions of western Oregon and California in the United States and Baja California Sur in Mexico.

This bird’s natural habitat is California’s brush, chaparral, open woodlands, and along streams adjacent to desert slopes. It has widely adapted to parks and gardens and is found throughout Baja California, as well. They can be found along the North Pacific coastline from Southern Oregon, USA to Baja California, Mexico. The California towhee is a non-migratory bird and they only change their homes when finding a mate.

The California towhee feeds on the ground or in low scrub where it prefers a variety of seeds, grasses, and herbs. When eating grass seeds, towhees can strip all seeds off at once using its beak. During breeding season, the California towhee supplements its diet with insects such as grasshoppers and beetles. Additionally, they may eat snails, millipedes, and spiders.

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