Distinctive markings: Male has a black head, back and tail with white belly, orange-red sides and red or white eyes. The female’s coloring has a browner cast. A flurry of flying leaves and bursts of ...

In my yard in Decatur the other morning, an unseen bird in a shrub belted out something that sounded like, “Drink your teeeee!” I knew immediately that it was an Eastern towhee. Then, a loud “cheerily ...

From forest edges and thickets on late spring mornings in the Northeast comes what sounds like an exhortation from across the pond: “drink-your-tea!” This is not a British parent’s plea, but rather ...