Definition of "towhee" []

• A North American bird (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) that ranges from southern Canada to Mexico and has black, white, and rust-colored plumage in the male. Also called chewink, ground robin. (noun)
• Any of several finches of the genera Pipilo or Chlorura, found in the western United States. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "So let us call the towhee a finch, and say no more about it."
• "Mystery bird: California towhee, Melozone crissalis"
• "Flocks of phoebe and towhee and dove pushing the cold ahead of them."