Linda and I have just arrived at the Purina Farms Event Arena in Gray Summit, MO, which means we are officially surrounded by Poodles. Small ones, medium ones, and even ones that stand three times the height of ours. Pick a standard breed color and it will not take long before a matching Prima-Donna will prance by, nose in air and sparkles on the collar. Yep, we are at the AKC Poodle Nationals or Poodle Specialty for short. The boys will be competing tomorrow in the agility ring and then give way to the confirmation events scheduled for later in the week. That would be rows and rows of grooming tables covering an entire exhibit hall – imagine a Build-A-Bear factory had exploded. Once that is done, Ruger will toe the line for FastCAT, which is the canine equivalent of the 100 yard dash (hoping to improve on his 19.5mph PR). Time for the pups to earn their keep ha. I also have a three part Halloween themed post to get through on the mothership that is about 7 months overdue (I swear I retired..where does the time go!!). While we get things taken care of here, Brad is going to take the Intrigued reins and bring you wings I’ve never seen!
Take it away Brad…
Ever run across a very unassuming bird, just sitting and minding its own business? That’s what happened for me on this bird.
I was wandering along the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve (UNBNP) trying to find Jan. She was photographing the California Thrasher (link here). I thought I saw her on a parallel path so I tried to find my way over to her.
On the way, there was a smallish tree/bush with a brown lump in it. The chances were very high that it was a bird I’d never seen or photographed before, so I snuck up on it. I chuckled to myself (CTM). I’m over 6 feet tall, carrying a very large piece of glass on a long stick. I think it’s hard for me to sneak up on anything on pebbly gravel paths.
As I got closer, it seemed to be alerting someone. John Wayne Airport was still pumping airplanes into the air at an astonishing rate drowning out the bird’s call. I sure am glad my house isn’t within hearing distance of an airport. The wildlife in the preserve must be accustomed to the noise to the point they can’t hear it any more. Sort of “ear blind,” if you will.
Upon further inspection (on the big screen at home) I noticed the tiny orange eye ring. I’m pretty sure there was no way I would have seen this at the time, and it is a great indicator if you can see it.
Hit the jump to reveal the identity.
This is a California Towhee (Melozone crissalis).
The brown-on-brown coloring is nearly perfect camouflage when sitting in a brown tree. Leaves on the tree would have helped hide it a bit more. The Towhee is a bit larger than a typical sparrow, but not as large as an American Robin. If you are lucky, they will flash a rusty colored patch under their tail. Males look pretty much the same as females.
The range for the California Towhee is along the coast from Northern California all the way to the tip of Baja California. I happened to see it roughly in the middle of its north-south range. They don’t seem to venture very far inland either. The Towhee feeds mostly on seeds, supplementing with grasshoppers or beetles during the breeding season. They have been known to eat various berries, acorns, peas, and poison oak berries.
If you are lucky enough to find one in the wild, please leave its nest alone, but not necessarily for the reasons you think. Poison Oak is a hazard of outdoor recreation in California. It is also a primary building material for the Towhee. Their nests are constructed from this irritating plant. Towhee also feast on Poison Oak’s pale white berries.
The California Towhee will build a nest only a few feet off the ground in the fork of a shrub or small tree. The female builds a very complicated and comfortable nest. She weaves an outer shell from grass, twigs and unfortunately sometimes human trash, all materials they can easily find in the chaparral lining the Pacific coast. The female then lines the inside with downy seeds, strips of bark or animal hair. Did I mention the male watches the entire process, usually without lifting a feather? He’s the bird equivalent of a coach potato. A pair will raise 2-5 eggs up to three times per year, but I’m guessing Mom does most of the work.
After a few dozen (OK, probably a hundred) shutter clicks, I think I was finally getting on its nerves. I had been getting casual glances in my general direction.
The look it gave me reminded me of “the look” Jan and I would give Allyson when she was approaching the edge of acceptable behavior as a youngster. Truthfully, we didn’t have to pull out this look very often, and it was often met with one in return. Hard to stay stern when her pigtails were still bouncing around. Though we did catch her, from time to time, giving other kids “the look” when they exceeded her parameters for acceptable behavior.
The Towhee had enough of stardom. Off it flew.
Thank you for reading. If you want to see more California Towhee photos, please visit here.
Credits
Thanks again to Jan for proofreading and editing. Thanks to Jan for some of the photos in this article.
Wildlife Intrigued 
Poodlemania? Some of those poodles sound like most of the people who go to ballroom dance nationals. One reason I didn’t become a professional dancer when I was 19. I couldn’t deal with horny old widows and the egos of so many of the pros.
That Towhee looks pretty plain to be from colorful California. Beautiful photos.
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The boys say that is just the foofy confirmation dogs – the agility poodles are cool and chicks dig them! I will admit that those foofers can have major egos and since they must be intact I am guessing the horny dancers comparison part still applies hehehehe. I don’t see you being a professional dancer Tim – SP would not approve ha.
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You don’t think SP would let me on stage to dance, hang on Michael Star and flash my boobs? I danced for years, competed, and taught dance. I never started dancing again after the cancers.
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Thinking not unless you somehow can transform yourself into a 20 something stripper. Dancing, flowers…are you balancing out those wild teen years!?!
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Back to Intrigued’s annual sensitivity training for you.
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….and still worth it! I do commend myself for toning it down from what I was going to comment with so I might be teachable.
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I’ve seen some old ladies on stage rubbing all over Michael in videos. Women in wheelchairs, also. If they have lady parts SP doesn’t seem to discriminate. They probably draw the line when it comes to old guys, however.
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Well, you gotta have standards ha.
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Thanks Tim. I, too, was surprised in the drab coloring. Maybe that’s how it stands out? If everyone is in bright colors, they all look the same. But if you are plain brown, that’s outstanding, so to speak.
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Good point.
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Very interesting info on the towhee. I live about 30 minutes from Purina Farms in Gray Summit, MO. I’m guessing that’s what you meant; not IL. If not, then we have a new place to take the grandkids. 🙂
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Ooops, thank you for the correction David!!! You are correct, I did mean MO and not IL – apologies to the grandkids for any disappointment. Wonderful area around here (a bit gamey depending on which way the wind blows ha), we are hoping to spend some time at Shaw Nature Preserve and a few other birdy areas we like to catch when in the area. Appreciate you dropping in and thanks again for the catch.
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Thanks David. It was all new information to me, just like the bird. I try to see what Jan and I can find to photograph wherever we travel. That way I get to learn something new about the subject later on, whether it’s plants, animals, birds, landscapes, volcanos, or underwater.
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If I had known you were in the area I go t some nice up close shot of Eurasian tree sparrows if you have not already added them to your lifer list.
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This is to correct that jumbled up comment above.
If I had known you were in the area I would have invited you to viist my back yard to get some nice up close shot of Eurasian tree sparrows if you have not already added them to your lifer list.
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Appreciate the offer David. I used to have to work to get the Eurasian Tree Sparrow – usually ending up in the St. Louis area to get the check. Many years back they extended their range up to Havana, IL which cut the drive time, however, in the last maybe 5 years they are now regular visitors to our backyard feeders – quite a surprise the first time they showed up and even had to take extra time to make sure I didn’t mistake the mark on the side of the head (we have a lot of House Sparrows in the area as well). Got the check a couple of weeks ago, otherwise I’d probably take you up on it! Thanks again.
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I can always use another +1. 🙂
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I’ll let you know the next time it is on our feeders!
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That Calif Towhee is a striking bird – almost nothing to see until you look close, and then you can really admire his leaf-patterned chin and barest hints of auburn. Great catch, Brad, and thanks for bringing us such great photos of a totally new bird!
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Thanks for your kind words Sam. As my father-in-law is fond of saying, “even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and again”. I don’t really even remember taking the photos, and am usually surprised when I get home. At this point in my birding, nearly every bird I come across is a new bird, the wonder is still happening. Greatly appreciate your assessment. (does that help my review Brian?)
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It will definitely be considered, but remember we already have really high standards for our contributors.
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Nice work on getting such good photos of the Towhee! I have never seen one and unless they decide on heading to Florida for spring break I likely never will. 😦
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Brad might be able to do some form of trade for a Purple Gallinule…
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Actually Wally, I sort of stumbled onto this bird. Nearly perfect camouflage: a brown bird in a stark brown tree. I did find a cousin in Nevada, if that helps.
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How convenient that all of the birds you saw in California (at least so far) had the name of their home state in their name. 🙂
I have never seen a CA Towhee but it seems to take after its other relatives with regard to possessing the chill factor. Many are very tolerant of humans which allows for close observation and photography, as your many images prove.
It’s fascinating that they eat and build their nests with poison oak!
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You saw the same thing I did. I’d guess half of the birds and animals we saw on this extended trip had California in the name. As I was writing, I used the state abbreviation instead of typing the whole thing each time. This one was certainly tolerant of the paparazzi. As was another towhee in a future story, with a different name from a different state (no the state is not in the name this time). I think part of the reason for their population challenges is that humans don’t like poison oak and are removing it when they can. I’d have to think twice about removing the poison ivy around here if I knew someone feathered depended on it, but probably only twice. Thanks for stopping by again Tanja.
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I guess one could leave some poison ivy in a little corner that nobody ever has to walk through if it benefited someone.
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Good luck, Ruger! And, Brad, I love “the look!” Great photos & info! 🙂
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Thanks Lisa – Ruger managed to pull out a qualifying run and a first place at that – a bit of the zoomies getting it done, but people only see the ribbons ha!
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Fantastic! ☀️
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Thanks Lisa. Didn’t the “look” look just like the “look”?
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Exactly! ☀️
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