7.25″ long. The Spotted Towhee is a medium-sized bird with a conical bill and red eye. The male has a black head, back, wings, and tail. These colors are paler in the female. The long tail has white outer tail feathers that show up well in flight. The wings have two white bars and multiple white spots. The belly is white with rusty flanks and a buffy undertail. The male Eastern Towhee is similar but lacks the extensive white spots on the wings.
The Spotted Towhee is seen in migration from mid March to early May and from mid September to late October. It may occasionally overwinter.
Spotted Towhee frequently feeds on the ground with a double-scratching motion by pulling both legs backward at the same time. It was originally called the Rufous-sided Towhee but has recently been split from the similar Eastern Towhee. The Spotted Towhee is a more western bird that occurs in this area during migration and occasionally during the winter whereas the Eastern Towhee breeds in this area. The song is similar to the Eastern Towhee. There are one to five chip notes followed by a trill such as “che, che, che, che, zheeee” or “che, che, zheeee” .
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