Pipilo chlorurus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cabo Pulmo National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 12 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Torreón | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 8 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Green-tailed Towhee sighting in Death Valley National Park on a given day, based on 32 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 126th most-seen of the 213 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Green-tailed Towhee in Death Valley National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June–August and October–April, the lowest months. That is one of Death Valley National Park's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 30 mm in March.
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.
14th of 16
Of the 16 parks where we can rate Green-tailed Towhee sightings, Death Valley National Park ranks 14th at under 5%. The best odds are in Cabo Pulmo National Park (Mexico, about 40%), Grand Teton National Park (United States, about 30%) and Rocky Mountain National Park (United States, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Green-tailed Towhee is recorded against all the birds logged in Death Valley National Park (32 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
