I have noticed quite a bit of variation in Towhee songs. When I
was at Mt. Nemo WMA in Garrett County two weekends ago, I
heard one that sounded like "drink up!" (a new variation for me)
followed a few minutes later by the more traditional song. And
sometimes they really do say, "tow-heeee" or just "heeee."
All the same, the apparent counter-singing reported by Cliff is
quite interesting.
Elaine Hendricks
Greenbelt, MD (PG County)
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Cliff Comeau" <>
> To:
> Subject: [MDOSPREY] Towhee songs
> Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2007 10:26:32 -0400
>
>
> 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
>
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