The Spotted Towhee is a large sparrow with a thick, pointed bill, short neck, chunky body, and long, rounded tail. Males have jet-black upperparts and throat; their wings and back are spotted bright white. The flanks are warm rufous and the belly is white. Females have the same pattern but are warm brown where males are black. In flight, look for white corners to the black tail.

References cited in Species Profile

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2015. Spotted Towhee. All About Birds. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Spotted_Towhee/id
• Davis, J. 1960. Nesting behavior of the Rufous-sided Towhee in coastal California. Condor 62: 434-456.
• Greenlaw, Jon S. 1996. Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/263
• Grinnell, J., and Miller, A. H. 1944. The distribution of the birds of California. Pac. Coast Avifauna 27.
• Shuford, W. D. 1993. The Marin County Breeding Bird Atlas: A Distributional and Natural History of Coastal California Birds. California Avifauna Series 1. Bushtit Books, Bolinas, CA.
• Shuford, W. D., and Gardali, T., editors. 2008. California Bird Species of Special Concern: A ranked assessment of species, subspecies, and distinct populations of birds of immediate conservation concern in California.
• Stewart, R. M., and Smail, J. 1974. The Status of the Song Sparrow and Bewick's Wren on San Clemente Island and Santa Barbara Island, California, part 1, San Clemente Island. U.S. Fish & Wildl. Serv., Endangered Species Office, Sacramento, CA.
• USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. 2012. North American Breeding Bird Survey 1966 - 2010 analysis. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/specl10.html