[Maine-birds] Spotted Towhee

Hi,

This afternoon with a group of sparrows and juncos we had a Spotted Towhee in our yard  at the edge of Machias.  We have a number of shrubby area with some tall trees and it was on the ground in the leaves.  This was an unexpected visitor.  We have had Eastern Towhees before, but this one had much more white on the wings with the white spotted all the way onto the upper parts of the wings. 

I know this is a western bird, but I am certain the spotted on the wings is not normal for an Eastern Towhee.  Unfortunately I did not have a camera with me but I will be on the lookout over the next several days to see if it shows up again.

I also want to know how often this bird might be seen vagrant to the eastern US.  I am finding a few references that one subspecies of the spotted towhee does migrate more and may be a vagrant to the eastern US.   

Sincerely,
William
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William Otto
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Chair, Environmental and Biological Sciences Division
University of Maine at Machias
107a Science, UMM
116 O'Brien Ave, Machias, ME 04654
207-255-1345
fax: 207-255-1390

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