Female Eastern Towhee Mimicry Camouflage Looks Like a Dog!

There are some animals and insects in nature that look like more menacing creatures to keep predators away. For example, I’ve seen a moth that looks like a bird of prey when its wings are closed. Today, I took several photos of a female eastern towhee that had the coolest mimicry camouflage! From behind, her feathers look like the face of a dog or a fox!

Dave spotted her first while we were sitting on the edge of our field, just inside the field but facing back toward the thicket of trees. She was in a small tree in a thicket of brush and woods. Dave pointed her out to me and I began snapping pictures. It was almost like she was posing for me. After I got several, Dave took the camera and got a couple side-view shots.

Check it out! Do you see the dog face (or maybe fox face) in her wing design? I am so in love with this bird!

Fun Facts About Eastern Towhees

• Towhees are in the sparrow family, but longer and heavier than typical sparrows.
• You can tell this is a female eastern towhee because her body is primarily brown. A male would have black where she has the brown markings. Both males and females have white breasts and orange sides.
• Their name comes from their call. Mark Catesby named the bird in 1731 because he thought its call sounded like it was saying “tow-hee.”
• Towhee can be found year-round in the Southeastern United States. They are found in the Northern parts of the United States but they migrate south for the winter.
• Eastern Towhees are usually loners. They are more willing to be around each other in breeding season, but especially males will drive each other away.
• They have 1-3 broods per year. Each brood will have between 2 and 6 eggs in it. The most common is to have 2 broods of 3-4 eggs each. They only sit on their eggs for 12-13 days before they hatch. Once hatched, the little ones stay in the next about 10-12 days while both parents take care of them. Once the babies can leave the nest, they’ll follow their parents around on the ground for a few days and their parents will help them find food.
• Towhees mainly forage for insects and seeds on the ground. They’ll rake leaves around to find something to eat. Because towhee love to dig around in leaves, you’ll need some un-manicured areas of your yard to get them to hang around. For example, the area I spotted this one was a patch of woods with unkempt brush and overgrown shrubs next to a more manicured field.  

Eastern Towhee Animal Symbolism

Towhee remind us to ground ourselves… connect to Mother Earth. They remind us to turn over the leaves of life. Don’t just take things at face value, dig around a bit, be willing to stir things up to look for the treasures and provision that God wants to give you. It’s there. You might just need to move things around a bit to find it!

Jesus used the sparrow to remind us of our value and God’s provision:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

Matthew 10:29-30