Eastern Towhee on a gray dreary day at Millington WMA.

The Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erthrophthalmus) is a fat little bird that kind of looks like a cross between a sparrow and an oriole.

The head and back or black and the underside of its wing has a little orange coloring. I wish the photo above was better, but it was a dreary day after a rain at Millington WMA and the sky was not very accommodating for a color contrast.

With a little reading I discovered the species has declined by as much as 90 percent in the northeast U.S. in recent decades, which may explain why I have only one spotting under my belt in a few years.