California Towhee
Melozone crissalis
About This Species
Look for a plain, uniformly brownish bird with a warm rufous face and undertail, typically seen scratching through leaf litter and low shrubs in gardens, chaparral and scrubby parks. It tends to stay close to cover and forages on or near the ground rather than in the open. Present year-round where it occurs, so it can be found in any season, though quieter behaviour during molt can make late summer trickier.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Watch from a short distance without pushing into the dense shrubbery it favours, since flushing it repeatedly from cover interrupts feeding and can expose it to predators.
- Migratory bird protections apply in its range, and general wildlife disturbance laws also cover common resident species, though enforcement is typically reserved for more serious harm.
- Letting the bird approach on its own terms, rather than following it into cover, works better than active pursuit.
LCAvesPasseriformesPasserellidae
Seasonal Activity
1,926,579 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passerellidae
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.