A bird notorious for its secretive nature becomes conspicuous while singing on territory during the breeding season.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I photographed this male Green-tailed Towhee six days ago in the Wasatch Mountains. It was his song that gave his location on top of a lichen-encrusted fence post away.
I think the crown of lumpy and colorful lichens on the post transform it from a ho-hum perch to one worthy of the species that was my original ‘spark bird‘.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Here he partially erected his distinctive reddish-brown cap as he turned his head.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
But singing on territory was about all this guy had on his mind. The diverse song of the Green-tailed Towhee consists of short phrases of jumbled notes and trills.and this time of year it often gives the locations of singing males away.
I know this bird is a male because only males of the species sing.
As per usual for me my camera settings were meant for takeoff or flight shots but when he eventually launched it was partially away from me so those shots didn’t turn out.
Par for the course but sometimes I do get the birdie…
Ron
Thank you for sharing these photographs and the song. Both are so pretty! Thank you for reminding me on a daily basis that there is beauty in the world.
We all need those reminders occasionally, Marty. Especially these days.
He’s gorgeous. Beautiful shots!
Thanks, Jean.
Don’t have them here, but lots of Spotted Towhee’s.
Looked up the Green-Tailed in BotW and learned that they both forage by “bilateral scratching” which I, in my ignorance, was calling hop scratching. How embarrassing.🤦♂️
A lot of us call it hop-scratching, Lyle. I’d stick with it.
Oh my. Oh my, oh my, oh my.
And the lichen is special too. Most of ours is a soft green not that eye popping hue.
We have some of that soft green stuff too, EC. But we have a lot of the orange lichens and I’ve always liked them, despite my fairly recently developed aversion to orange.
Lichen is a very different orange, NOT to be compared with the current ugly growth on your country.
He’s singing his heart out! What a joy.
He was really getting into it, Arwen.
The other day, I touched on the sheer magic with your creativity, your artistry, in choosing when you click the shutter. That’s something that cannot be overlooked in the beauty you bring to the table (computer) every day. Yes, the bird helps by often perching in pretty place like this little towhee who obliged with a lovely lichen-covered fence post (lichen is always a bonus), but you also chose to capture the image. OK, in this case, too, the bird helped by drawing you to him with his delightful song, but still, your ear heard it and searched him out.
I’m doing a lousy job of wrapping my words around the magic of your artistry. You do that day after day, year after year and that’s a HUGE blessing that ‘s GREATLY appreciated! Thank you!
According to the Cornell maps, I should be able to find this little jewel near where I live. I’ll try to keep my eyes peeled, which could be a little painful 😉
I appreciate the very kind words, Laura.
They prefer “species-rich shrub communities within shrub-steppe habitats, and disturbed and open areas of montane forest, often created by forest fires” so look for them in places like that.
Beautiful photos! The light is nice and yes the lichen really adds to the photos.
There seem to be a lot of green-tail towhees right now.
“There seem to be a lot of green-tail towhees right now”
That’s because the males are singing on territory right now, April. When nesting season is over they’ll go back to their highly secretive ways.
Just love this bird and wish it’s range were closer! The colors are wonderful on this bird and the lichen crusted perch sets him off beautifully! Our Eastern Towhees have moved on but I was more than pleased that several were around long enough for good photo ops! The joys of being in a migratory zone!
Thanks, Kathy. They’re one of my favorite birds for several reasons.
Beautiful colorful bird and beautiful colorful photos. Great job Ron. Have never seen one, but would sure like to.
Thanks, Everett. Believe me, lots of people don’t see them, even in areas where they’re fairly common. They’re so skulky even science doesn’t know a lot about them.
Beautiful shots Ron and quite a perch especially for us lichen fans. I’ve never seen one so I looked them up and I see their range map is quite interesting as it seems they take to the higher ground but they are breeding season regulars in California’s Sacrament Valley. Hoping to see one some day soon. We also have the Spotted Towhee around here, that is one elusive bird with poses very hard to come by.
I agree with you about Spotted Towhees, Dave. They’re relatively common around here and I hear them often but see them far less often. To this day I have very, very few shots of them I like and I’ve been trying with them for 12 years now.
Beautiful bird! I start out before sunrise so I set the camera for flight shots at ISO 16,000 in the event I see something flying over and I need help identifying it. Then as the sky lightens up I keep reducing the ISO to bring the exposure down to the 1500-2000 range. Too often, I forget to meter it down and end up with a hurried and horribly over-exposed and soft shot.
“Too often, I forget to meter it down”
Yup. Been there, done that.
Subtly beautiful little bird……. 🙂 From the sounds I’m guessing I’ve heard but not seen one. Not going there on “sometimes I do get the birdie”….. 😉
Thanks, Judy. Couldn’t resist that golfing thing. It was just too easy…
Wasn’t where my mind went……… 😉
Either one works, Judy… 🙂