Home › All birds › Eastern towhee

The Eastern towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) is a bird found in United States and Canada. Thick brush and woodland edges in eastern North America. It eats seeds and nuts, insects and other small invertebrates and fruit. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Eastern towhee lives

Thick brush and woodland edges in eastern North America.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🌰 Seeds & nuts40%
• 🐛 Insects & bugs30%
• 🍎 Fruit30%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Eastern towhee

Recorded by Rory Nefdt (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1133852. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Eastern towhee

Where does the Eastern towhee live?

The Eastern towhee lives in United States and Canada. Thick brush and woodland edges in eastern North America.

What does the Eastern towhee eat?

seeds and nuts (about 40%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 30%), fruit (about 30%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Eastern towhee endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

• Jamaican blackbird
• Eskimo curlew
• Guadalupe storm petrel
• ʻAkohekohe
• Urich's tyrannulet
• White-throated barbtail

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.