Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus
I see Spotted Towhees out in the open mostly in the form of males singing during breeding season; the rest of the year, they are often heard but much more rarely seen, as they spend much of their time foraging in fallen leaves protected by overhead cover, as shown in a picture further down.
A pair of Spotted Towhees illustrates the sex difference in plumage: female above, with dark areas mostly brown; male below, with same areas black.
Spotted Towhees get most of their food, both insects and seeds, by foraging in leaf litter, kicking leaves aside and scratching at the ground, especially under cover of overhead foliage.
A male singing high up and out in the open during breeding season.
Above, a female bathing in our backyard fountain, and below, a male right after having done the same thing.
This male in breeding season was putting up a fierce battle to defend his territory against his own reflection in our living room window, seen from the side, above, and from inside the house below, the imaginary antagonist's perspective, inside the house. (Yes, this picture drew our attention to the need for some window cleaning.)
