Soon, with its welcome sunshine and bright blooms, spring will make its explosive assertion of color. Among birds, it will be time for shining orioles, warblers and tanagers to migrate in from parts ...

DEAR JOAN: This will be the fourth spring during which I get a visit from a spotted towhee. I’ve already heard and seen him. I feel sure it is the same one. He mostly sits in a Japanese maple tree and ...

Spotted towhees have a thick, pointed bill; short neck; chunky body and long, rounded tail. Males have jet-black upperparts and throat while their wings and back are spotted bright white. The flanks ...

Editor’s note: This is a monthly article featuring bird species of the Upper Clark Fork River Valley from Butte to Garrison. The emberizidae family or sparrow family is a large family in North America ...

Characteristics: A sparrow-sized bird, this towhee has a black head, red eye and the males have a black back with white spots, hence the common name. Females are browner instead of black. The ...

DEAR JOAN: This will be the fourth spring during which I get a visit from a spotted towhee. I’ve already heard and seen him. I feel sure it is the same one. He mostly sits in a Japanese maple tree and ...

Spotted towhees have a thick, pointed bill, short neck, chunky body, and long, rounded tail. Males have jet-black upperparts and throat while their wings and back are spotted bright white. The flanks ...