Saturday, April 10, 2010

A Towhee Poses for a Picture

Pipilo crissalis 
Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve
Los Angeles County, California
March 28th, 2010

This little California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis) posed for a few pictures on a recent birding trip to the Selpulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve. This trip will be memorable because it was the first trip I took with my wife. She was great for her first time out, she often spotted unique birds before I did, and she makes a great companion. Hopefully, she will join me on future outings as I had a great time with her. 

The California Towhee is a common bird of the chaparral and scrublands of California and Southern Oregon. They are uniformly brown, with a reddish brown eye-ring and under-tail coverts. They essentially look like a big brown sparrow. They tend to live in the dense shrubs along coastal slopes and foothills, but they are also resident visitors of backyards and city parks. One interesting bit of information on this towhee is that they often make their nests in poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) and feed on the plants berries. 

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