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Bird

Eastern Towhee

Pipilo erythrophthalmus

Lives in Mississippi all year and nests here. Found in all 82 counties, across 17 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 82 counties
Habitats
17

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 82 counties
Habitats
17
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Mississippi 17

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 17

Swamps

The Land of Evangeline
SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp; Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress DomeJoseph Rusling Meeker, The Land of Evangeline (1874): moss-hung trees over a still bayou in Louisiana swamp forest. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Louisiana bayou country (Meeker, The Land of Evangeline, 1874), a neighboring state.The Land of Evangeline, Joseph Rusling Meeker, 1874. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal Wetland

Coastal Plain hammocks

Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Mississippi River Riparian Forest; Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerWinterDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterPasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerWinterDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation
Other habitats in its models (106)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Mississippi. Those recorded in Mississippi first, the rest by region.

Elsewhere in the South (45)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer and winter.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer and winter.
  • Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Cumberland Riverscour Summer and winter.
  • Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer and winter.
  • Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter.
  • Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Pine Rockland Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Summer and winter.
  • Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
Northeast (7)
  • Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dune and Swale Summer and winter.
Land cover and other classes (54)
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Summer and winter.
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter.
  • For forest classes treated as secondary habitat, the model selects edges; primary forest classes can include interiors.

All habitats

Seasons in Mississippi

  • Year-round: nests here, in 81 of 82 counties.
  • Winter: does not nest here, in 5 of 82 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Mississippi, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Eastern Towhee uses many habitats in Mississippi; these are its 3 most characteristic.

Swamps

Birds 100

Plants 291

All of swamps in Mississippi

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 88

Plants 346

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in Mississippi

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Birds 120

Plants 1094

All of roadsides, fields and disturbed ground in Mississippi

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources