While spotted towhees are permanent residents on our Littleton, Colorado, farm, green-tailed towhees are uncommon visitors, stopping by as they head to or from the foothills. Having wintered in Mexico or in the low deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, they summer on brushy slopes and canyon walls throughout the Intermountain West. Here along the Front Range, they prefer the foothill shrub zone, dominated by junipers and Gambel oak.
When I encounter this attractive towhee on the farm, it is usually in May and I am fortunate to find more than one. Indeed, they spend most of their time in dense shrubs or thickets, protected from potential predators as they scratch through leaf litter for insects and seeds. Their nests are also constructed within such dense vegetation.
Yesterday's visitor emerged from the cover of a sprawling juniper for a minute or less, just enough time for me to admire his colorful plumage and offer a brief greeting. Not interested in idle banter, he returned to the seclusion of his shadowy hunting grounds.
