Hi all,

Recently at Pilgrim Hill Park (Randolf Road, Montgomery Co), my wife Susan & I heard an Eastern Towhee singing its "drink your tea" song.  Or so we thought.  When we approached and found the bird, an adult male, it was singing only the "drink your" part of the song and the "tea" was being supplied by another source hidden in thick brush, perhaps 30 feet from the bird we could see.  

We listened for about 10 minutes to this performance.  We never saw the second bird, and the song never failed to sound like the typical towhee song, except that the "tea" came from a different direction.  The bird I could see was about 15 feet from the trail where I was standing, so the apparent difference in the direction of the two parts of the song was obvious from where my wife & I were standing.

I have never heard towhees singing this way, and I don't recall ever reading about such behavior from towhees.

Anyone heard anything similar?

Cliff Comeau


Beltsville/Calverton, PG Co. MD