THE TOWHEE 



By T. GILBERT PEARSON 



THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AUDUBON SOCIETIES 

 Educational Leaflet No. 79 



Not all birds possess strong personalities. Just as among a people 

 there are many who are neither particularly good nor bad, handsome 

 nor homely, brilliant nor stupid. They play an important part in life, 

 to be sure, but they do not attract any great attention nor arouse, on 

 the part of the observer, any special interest or enthusiasm. We all 

 know such persons, and I dare say most of us have made the acquaint- 

 ance of such birds now and then. 



The foregoing statement, however, does not describe the Towhee, 

 except in a negative manner by calling attention to the fact that it does 

 not belong to the mediocre class, for it is a bird of 

 distinct personality, being endowed, in a very large ! 



way, with what we may call "character." The male 

 is especially striking in appearance, and both he and his mate are filled 

 at all times with an energy and bounding activity that challenge the atten- 

 tion and admiration of everyone who is so fortunate as to meet them. 



One cannot watch the Towhee (or "Joree," as it is usually called 

 in the South) without imbibing some of the purposeful energy which 

 the bird imparts to its every movement. The ambitious and slothful alike 

 may receive inspiration and wisdom by considering its ways. I am par- 

 ticularly fond of the Towhee, and have long counted its friendship 

 among my most cherished possessions. 



It is about the tenth of April when this bird is usually first seen in 

 the latitude of New York. In rare instances it has been recorded in the 

 winter as far north as Massachusetts, but such cases are very excep- 

 tional. Virginia is usually the extreme northern limit of its winter 

 sojourn. 



As a rule it is not quite so trustful of mankind as are some of our 

 better-known lawn and garden species, as, for example, the Robin and 

 House Wren ; nor is it one of those shy denizens of 

 forests and open fields that rarely venture into a city. ^Bild" 



In fact it occupies a somewhat middle ground, and to 

 a more or less extent flits between these two groups, and seems fairly 

 well at home in either situation, as might be expected of so well-bred a 

 1)itd-of-the-world. 



Its occurrence in town, however, would appear to be more com- 

 mon in the autumn than the spring. It seems to prefer to investigate 



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