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A towhee is any one of a number of species of birds in the genus ''Pipilo'' or ''Melozone'' within the family Emberizidae (which also includes the buntings, American sparrows, and juncos). Towhees typically have longer tails than other emberizids. Most species tend to avoid humans, so they are not well known, though the eastern towhee ''P. erythrophthalmus'' is bolder. This species, and some others, may be seen in urban parks and gardens. There has been considerable debate over the taxonomy of the towhees in recent years. Two species complexes have been identified, the rufous-sided complex (involving ''Pipilo erythrophthalmus'', ''P. maculatus'', ''P. socorroensis'', ''P. ocai'' and ''P. chlorurus''), and the brown towhee complex (involving ''Melozone crissalis'', ''M. fuscus'', ''M. aberti'' and ''M. albicollis''). The distinction of species within these is uncertain and opinions have differed over the years. Modern authorities distinguish all four species in the brown towhee complex, though ''M. fuscus'' and ''M. crissalis'' were formerly treated as a single species. Hybrids are frequent between some of the species, particularly between the Mexican races of ''P. maculatus'' ("olive-backed towhee", ''P. m. macronyx'') and ''P. ocai''. Species list: * Abert's towhee (''Pipilo aberti'' or ''Melozone aberti''), * Bermuda towhee (''Pipilo naufragus'') — extinct, * California towhee (''Pipilo crissalis'' or ''Melozone crissalis''), * Canyon towhee (''Pipilo fusca'' or ''Melozone fusca''), * Green-tailed towhee (''Pipilo chlorurus''), * Collared towhee (''Pipilo ocai''), * Eastern towhee (''Pipilo erythrophthalmus''), * Spotted towhee (''Pipilo maculatus''), * White-throated towhee (''Pipilo albicollis'' or ''Melozone leucotis'') == References == * (【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=179275 ) * * 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Towhee」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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