Abert's Towhee

Melozone aberti (Baird, SF, 1852)

Abert's Towhee, Melozone aberti, is a passerine of the New World sparrow family that breeds in south-western USA and north-western Mexico. It is found in brushy riparian country in the Lower Sonoran desert zone, where it keeps close to cover beneath shrubs. Its range is centred on the lower Colorado and Gila river systems, with a small extension into nearby parts of Arizona and beyond. The bird is marked by a long tail and a dark face, and it is often brown overall. It can be mistaken for the California Towhee, though the face pattern helps separate them.

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Passerellidae — New World Sparrows

Breeding range

North America, Middle America: sw USA and nw Mexico