towhee U.S.
(ˈtaʊhiː, ˈtaʊiː)
Also 8 towee, 8–9 towhe.
[‘From one of its notes’ (Newton).]
The ground-robin or cheewink of North America, Pipilo erythrophthalmus; also towhee bird, towhee-finch, towhee-bunting, towhee-goldfinch. Also any species of Pipilo.
| 1730 Mortimer in Phil. Trans. XXXVI. 430 The Towhe Bird. 1791 W. Bartram Carolina 172 The towee birds..are very numerous. 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2), Chewink, the ground robin... On Long Island it is called the Towhee Goldfinch. 1893 Scribner's Mag. June 762/2 He utters his loud ‘Towhee’, a note so characteristic that it has become one of his names. |