In the late summer or early fall, this beautiful little male rufous sided towhee, now called the Eastern towhee, (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) turned up at my feeding station. He was very, very shy and it took me quite awhile to get any decent shots of him. When he first showed up, it wasn’t every day, so every time I went out, I hoped that he would still be around. Needless to say, he has stuck around and now he pretty much shows up every day. He’s still very shy. Once in awhile, he will stand out in the open and eat several seeds at once, but most of the time he races out of the underbrush, grabs something, and runs back into the weeds (his feeding habits are similar to those of the oven bird, but he’s even more shy). Since I’ve come to expect that behavior, it has helped me a lot in getting good photos. When I see him in the brush skulking around, I know where to focus, and I can often catch him as he runs in or out. Interestingly, I have not seen a female around. I’m waiting to see what happens when spring comes and the breeding season starts. My hope is that he will attract a mate to this prime territory, but he may also decide to leave to find a girlfriend. Only time will tell, but if I’m lucky, there will be more towhee shots to come that include a family.