Spotted Towhee with red eyes and rufous feathers

Photo Submission

Submitted By

Wendy Feltham

Port Townsend, WA, United States

Description

A pair of Spotted Towhees live by my house here on the Olympic Peninsula, and gather black-oil sunflower seeds that fall from my feeder. They flit into the bushes, and avoid my camera. One day when I was reading by the window, one of the towhees perched on a branch just a few feet from me, posing for its photo. I was surprised to see it has a red eye, and the sun shone on its rufous feathers. This is the reddest bird I’ve seen here in Washington State!

Species

Spotted Towhee With Red Eyes And Rufous Feathers

This Spotted Towhee outside my window here on the Olympic Peninsula, with its red eyes and rufous feathers, reminds us it used to be called the "Rufous-sided Towhee."

One reply on “Spotted Towhee with red eyes and rufous feathers”

Kelly Hugh says:

April 18, 2020 at 6:52 pm

Hi – I live in Victoria BC – not far from Washington State and I just came across your post while researching the spotted towhee. I have one that hangs around my patio deck where I put out the wild bird seed. What struck me most about this bird is the red jewel eyes that shine like rubies in the sunlight. When I first noticed the brightness of the red eye, my intial thought was that the bird had been in a fight with another bird and its eye got pecked, but as I started to research this bird, I discovered it was it’s actual eye color. I do not know of any other animal in nature with bright red eyes like the spotted towhee. I am very pleased to see that you, yourself, also have one in your yard.