California Towhee, Melozone crissalis

California Towhee
California Towhees are familiar birds to Californians, having expanded their habitat to include suburban parks and gardens as well as their native chaparral and oak woodland underbrush. They are a sedentary species, with long-term pairs occupying vigorously defended territories throughout the year. Males give their descending ping-pong-ball trilled song, similar to that of the Wrentit, only when they are unpaired, so it is not regularly heard; but the bird's sharp "chink" call, and the squealing duets of mated pairs, are common year-round. California Towhees were recently reclassified from the Pipilo to the Melozone genus along with their cousins of the southwestern desert, the Abert's and Canyon Towhees.

California Towhee

California Towhee

California Towhee

California Towhee

California Towhee

California Towhee