Green-tailed Towhee

Green-tailed Towhee

Pipilo chlorurus

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Denver

In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%

425 Verified sightings at Denver
6,713 In all 16 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Green-tailed Towhee

The green-tailed towhee (Pipilo chlorurus) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is found in the western United States and much of Mexico. The formal description of the green-tailed towhee is credited to Audubon, lthough the bird's description was written by John Townsend in a letter to him. Audubon gave this bird the binomial Fringilla chlorura and the English name "green-tailed sparrow". Because the species' wing shape and some other characteristics are somewhat distinctive, various authors placed it genera Oreospiza, Chlorura, or Oberholseria before it settled into its current Pipilo.

The genus (Pipilo) of the green-tailed towhee is monotypic. The green-tailed towhee is about 18 cm (7.1 in) long and weighs on average about 29 g (1.0 oz). Though the sexes have essentially the same plumage, females tend to be slightly duller than males. Adults have a reddish brown crown, a white spot above the lores, and a white "moustache" and throat on an otherwise gray head. Their hindneck, back, and scapulars are yellowish olive with grayish olive edges on the feathers. Their rump and uppertail coverts are grayish... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song1:21

United States · 2026

© Ed Pandolfino · XC1153724 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:52

United States · 2024

© Brian Cox · XC939818 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight call0:35

United States · 2018

© Matt Wistrand · XC438092 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cabo Pulmo National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~40%
2 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
3 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
4 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
5 Bahía de Loreto National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
6 Guadalupe Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
7 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
8 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
9 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
10 Zion National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
11 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
12 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
13 Grand Canyon National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
14 Death Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
15 Joshua Tree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
16 Cumbres de Monterrey National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Mesa 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Phoenix 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
3 Mexico City 🇲🇽 México
<5%
4 Las Vegas 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
5 Torreón 🇲🇽 México
<5%
6 Salt Lake City 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
7 Guadalajara 🇲🇽 México
<5%
8 Denver 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
9 San Diego 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
10 Austin 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Green-tailed Towhee in Denver?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Green-tailed Towhee sighting in Denver on a given day, based on 425 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 150th most-seen of the 299 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Green-tailed Towhee in Denver?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Green-tailed Towhee in Denver on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Green-tailed Towhee?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Green-tailed Towhee sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Denver the best place to see a Green-tailed Towhee?

8th of 16

Of the 16 cities where we can rate Green-tailed Towhee sightings, Denver ranks 8th at under 5%. The best odds are in Mesa (United States, about 10%), Phoenix (United States, under 5%) and Mexico City (México, under 5%).

Where does the Green-tailed Towhee sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Green-tailed Towhee is recorded against all the birds logged in Denver (425 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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