Eastern Phoebe vs. Eastern Towhee

This is a great matchup, if nothing for the perfect symmetry of the birds’ names. Eastern birds whose names are euonyms for their voices. I read recently that the towhee is called the chewink in some parts of its range. It has a rich chewink call that goes with the cheery “drink your tea!” that graces brushy zones throughout the east in summer.

The Eastern Phoebe comes in having already made it to breeding territory in places like southern Indiana. No signs of it up here in the northern latitudes, though the sight of one of these migrants on an early spring day is a wonderful harbinger of warmer days ahead.

This one is a toss-up, though an early draft of my bracket has the more colorful Eastern Towhee making a run.

Pick: Eastern Towhee

Photo: Shari McCollough