It's his dramatic red eyes looking back at you that catches your eye first.
Going completely unnoticed would be preferable to a Spotted Towhee because Spotted Towhees live where danger lurks...at ground level.
Security to a Spotted Towhee means tangled branches, thorns and twisted dark pathways through the understory.
Speckled sunlight shining through the leaves could be the Spotted Towhee's best ally.
It's suggested that the white spots on an otherwise black-backed bird confuses predators, as it mimics a sun dappled forest floor where the Spotted Towhee scratches for food.
The rufous shading of his flanks provides additional disguise as he searches the leaf litter for beetles and weevils, crickets and caterpillars. While this stand-out member of the sparrow family's aim is to remain as inconspicuous as possibly...beautiful red eyes still give him away.
Allan
Credits: Cornell Lab Of Ornithology, All About Birds,
The Sibley's Guide to Birds
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