Eastern Towhee
Eastern Towhee has fallen sharply: down 63% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Eastern Towhee
The Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) is a North American member of the New World Sparrows (Passerellidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the forest birds.
- Size
- 4.5–7.5 in long (12–19 cm) — a small songbird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Woodlands and forest edges, including wooded suburbs and parks.
- Diet
- Insects and spiders gleaned from foliage and bark, with seeds and berries in season.
- Range
- Recorded on 2,228 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 39 states, most concentrated in the Appalachian Mountains.
- Family
- Passerellidae · Forest birds
Notable Eastern Towhee Trends
Eastern Towhee has fallen sharply in surveyed states: down 63% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
Eastern Towhee Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Eastern Towhee is projected to fall about 22% by 2029 — from 4.1 in 2024 to a central estimate of 3.2 (95% range 0.97–5.4). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±16.9%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 5.7 |
| 2026 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 5.6 |
| 2027 | 3.3 | 1.1 | 5.5 |
| 2028 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 5.4 |
| 2029 | 3.2 | 0.97 | 5.4 |
Where the Eastern Towhee Is Detected
BBS routes recording Eastern Towhee, sized by most recent count.
Eastern Towhee Population Trend by State
| Alabama | -47% | 1968 | 108 |
| Arkansas | +9% | 1969 | 55 |
| Connecticut | -89% | 1968 | 20 |
| Delaware | -84% | 1968 | 17 |
| Florida | -50% | 1968 | 120 |
| Georgia | -47% | 1968 | 111 |
| Illinois | +34% | 1968 | 101 |
| Indiana | +66% | 1968 | 64 |
| Iowa | +103% | 1969 | 30 |
| Kansas | +472% | 1970 | 34 |
| Kentucky | -60% | 1968 | 64 |
| Louisiana | +36% | 1969 | 85 |
| Maine | -97% | 1968 | 36 |
| Maryland | -43% | 1968 | 76 |
| Massachusetts | -81% | 1968 | 32 |
| Michigan | -1% | 1968 | 96 |
| Minnesota | +171% | 1969 | 48 |
| Mississippi | -17% | 1968 | 74 |
| Missouri | -23% | 1969 | 93 |
| Montana | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Nebraska | -34% | 1970 | 27 |
| New Hampshire | -97% | 1968 | 22 |
| New Jersey | -74% | 1968 | 44 |
| New York | -67% | 1968 | 124 |
| North Carolina | -55% | 1968 | 112 |
| North Dakota | insufficient data | n/a | 4 |
| Ohio | +54% | 1968 | 87 |
| Oklahoma | +302% | 1998 | 10 |
| Pennsylvania | -9% | 1968 | 136 |
| Rhode Island | -62% | 1968 | 7 |
| South Carolina | -60% | 1968 | 51 |
| South Dakota | insufficient data | n/a | 3 |
| Tennessee | -16% | 1968 | 55 |
| Texas | -26% | 1998 | 7 |
| Vermont | -91% | 1968 | 24 |
| Virginia | -62% | 1968 | 88 |
| West Virginia | +2% | 1968 | 63 |
| Wisconsin | -7% | 1968 | 96 |
| Wyoming | insufficient data | n/a | 3 |
Eastern Towhee Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Prairie Potholes | -39% | 1973 | 23 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | -51% | 1968 | 99 |
| Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain | -52% | 1968 | 84 |
| Atlantic Northern Forest | -94% | 1968 | 105 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | -37% | 1972 | 26 |
| Eastern Tallgrass Prairie | +60% | 1968 | 255 |
| Prairie Hardwood Transition | +41% | 1968 | 151 |
| Central Hardwoods | -53% | 1968 | 163 |
| West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas | 13× | 1969 | 73 |
| Mississippi Alluvial Valley | -18% | 1968 | 67 |
| Southeastern Coastal Plain | -40% | 1968 | 345 |
| Appalachian Mountains | -13% | 1968 | 405 |
| Piedmont | -47% | 1968 | 170 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | -78% | 1968 | 164 |
| Peninsular Florida | -66% | 1968 | 75 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | -69% | 1969 | 13 |
Eastern Towhee Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it down about 63% since 1968.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.