Laura Erickson's For the Birds

This pretty, oversized sparrow is found along the edges of forests and woods, thickets, and fields. Except when singing, it spends much of its time on the ground, often scratching vigorously at leaf litter and soil with both feet. This species and its Western counterpart used to both be considered the same species, the “Rufous-sided Towhee;” the name applied equally to both, so they were given new names: the Eastern Towhee and the Spotted Towhee. The subspecies of the Eastern Towhee found in Florida has pale golden eyes.