Green-tailed Towhee Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesGreen-tailed Towhee
Adult
Large sparrow with thick bill and long tail. Unusual color pattern: green-yellow upperparts with clean gray head and breast, white throat, and reddish cap.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, May 24, 2020Adult
Large, long-tailed sparrow typically found on or near the ground. Breeds in dry, scrubby mountain habitats and brushy forest edges.
© darrell Cochran / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 15, 2017Adult
Males sing a jumbled series of clear whistles and trills lasting about 2.5 seconds.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryMontana, June 01, 2001Not all videos have sound
Adult
Large sparrow, typically found on or near the ground. Grayish overall with bright reddish cap and distinctive greenish yellow wings and tail.
© Dorian Anderson / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, June 14, 2020Juvenile
Large sparrow with thick bill and long tail. Juveniles are streaky and brownish, but typically show distinctive greenish yellow tinge to wings and tail.
© Tom Lally / Macaulay LibraryWyoming, August 18, 2015Adult
Winters in dry, brushy habitats including mesquite, hackberry, acacia, cactus, and creosote bush. Breeds on sagebrush plains and shrubby mountain slopes up to about 10,000 feet elevation.
© Bryan Calk / Macaulay LibraryTexas, January 06, 2017Similar SpeciesOlive Sparrow
Adult (Olive)
Olive Sparrow has a dark crown stripe and stripe through the eye, unlike Green-tailed Towhee's rufous cap. The two species have only a small range overlap, and only in winter.
© Dick Dionne / Macaulay LibraryTexas, May 05, 2008Similar SpeciesRufous-crowned Sparrow
Adult
Rufous-crowned Sparrow is grayish with rusty streaking above, unlike the Green-tailed Towhee's distinctive greenish yellow upperparts.
© Doug Hitchcox / Macaulay LibraryArizona, January 23, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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