Canyon Towhee
Canyon Towhee has held roughly steady: up 1% on the route-weighted index since 1969.
About the Canyon Towhee
The Canyon Towhee (Melozone fusca) is a North American member of the New World Sparrows (Passerellidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the arid-land birds.
- Size
- 4.5–7.5 in long (12–19 cm) — a small songbird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Deserts, dry scrub and brushland of the Southwest.
- Diet
- Seeds, insects and cactus fruit of arid-land plants.
- Range
- Recorded on 197 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 4 states, most concentrated in the Chihuahuan Desert.
- Family
- Passerellidae · Arid-land birds
Notable Canyon Towhee Trends
No notable trend signals for Canyon Towhee. See the full index history below.
Canyon Towhee Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Canyon Towhee is projected to rise about 13% by 2029 — from 0.10 in 2024 to a central estimate of 0.11 (95% range 0.04–0.18). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±52.8%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.11 | 0.04 | 0.18 |
| 2026 | 0.11 | 0.04 | 0.18 |
| 2027 | 0.11 | 0.04 | 0.18 |
| 2028 | 0.11 | 0.04 | 0.18 |
| 2029 | 0.11 | 0.04 | 0.18 |
Where the Canyon Towhee Is Detected
BBS routes recording Canyon Towhee, sized by most recent count.
Canyon Towhee Population Trend by State
| Arizona | -21% | 1970 | 44 |
| Colorado | -41% | 1973 | 14 |
| New Mexico | -61% | 1970 | 63 |
| Texas | -38% | 1969 | 76 |
Canyon Towhee Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Southern Rockies / Colorado Plateau | -75% | 1970 | 40 |
| Shortgrass Prairie | -58% | 1970 | 28 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | +171% | 1969 | 13 |
| Edwards Plateau | +56% | 1971 | 14 |
| Oaks and Prairies | -15% | 1993 | 7 |
| Sonoran and Mojave Deserts | -32% | 1970 | 16 |
| Sierra Madre Occidental | -49% | 1970 | 27 |
| Chihuahuan Desert | -65% | 1969 | 50 |
Canyon Towhee Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 1% since 1969.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.