The California towhee (Melozone crissalis) is named based upon the way the bird sounds. It is a large, drab sparrow with buff-colored undertail coverts, short, rounded wings, long tail, and a thick, seed-cracking beak. Sexes are similar. The California towhee feeds on the ground or in low scrub where it prefers a variety of seeds and some insects. It is a permanent resident from southern Oregon south throughout most of the Upper and Lower Sonoran zones of California to the tropical tip of Baja California.
