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Green-tailed Towhee - Pipilo chlorurus

  • Green-tailed Towhee
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Species of Concern

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S3B
* (see State Rank Reason below)

Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:
FWP Conservation Tier: 2
PIF: 3

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Copyright by Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, all rights reserved.
State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)
Populations in Montana and across the Northern Rockies have undergone recent declines.
  • Details on Status Ranking and Review
    Green-tailed Towhee (Pipilo chlorurus) Conservation Status Review
    Review Date = 01/04/2012
    View State Conservation Rank Criteria
    Population Size

    ScoreU - Unknown

    CommentUnknown.

    Range Extent

    ScoreG - 200,000-2,500,000 km squared (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)

    Comment213,835 square kilometers based on Natural Heritage Program range maps that appear on the Montana Field Guide.

    Area of Occupancy

    ScoreU - Unknown

    CommentUnknown.

    Long-term Trend

    ScoreE - Relatively Stable (±25% change)

    CommentSagebrush covertypes probably drastically reduced since European arrival, but shrubby habitats have probably increased in forested areas as a result of timber harvest. Overall longterm trend may best be categorized as stable to within +/-25%.

    Short-term Trend

    ScoreD - Declining. Decline of 10-30% in population, range, area occupied, and/or number or condition of occurrences

    CommentBBS data is of moderate credibility with a significant negative trend of -3.7% per year or -32% per decade. BBS data for the Northern Rocky Mountains is of highest credibility and shows a nonsignificant trend of -1.1% per year or 11% decline per decade. Probably best regarded as declining at 10-30% over the short-term.

    Threats

    ScoreF - Widespread, low-severity threat. Threat is of low severity but affects (or would affect) most or a significant portion of the population or area.

    CommentHabitat loss from sagebrush removal and fire suppression in conifer forests that reduces shrub regrowth both represent potential threats to the species.

    SeverityLow - Low but nontrivial reduction of species population or reversible degradation or reduction of habitat in area affected, with recovery expected in 10-50 years.

    CommentAlthough sagebrush covertypes take a long time to recover other shrub species tend to respond relatively quickly to disturbance and the species should be able to respond quickly to this shrub regeneration.

    ScopeModerate - 20-60% of total population or area affected

    Comment20-60% of the population is likely being impacted by habitat loss or alteration or fire suppression

    ImmediacyModerate - Threat is likely to be operational within 2-5 years.

    CommentOngoing

    Intrinsic Vulnerability

    ScoreC - Not Intrinsically Vulnerable. Species matures quickly, reproduces frequently, and/or has high fecundity such that populations recover quickly (< 5 years or 2 generations) from decreases in abundance; or species has high dispersal capability such that extirpated populations soon become reestablished through natural recolonization (unaided by humans).

    Comment

    Environmental Specificity

    ScoreC - Moderate. Generalist. Broad-scale or diverse (general) habitat(s) or other abiotic and/or biotic factors are used or required by the species but some key requirements are scarce in the generalized range of the species within the area of interest.

    CommentSpecies uses a variety of shrubby habitats in shrub steppe or disturbed and regenerating forest areas.

    Raw Conservation Status Score

    Score 3.5 + 0.0 (geographic distribution) + 0.0 (environmental specificity) - 0.25 (short-term trend) + 0.0 (threats) = 3.25
    How Scores are Calculated

 
General Description
A large sparrow; about 18 cm long, mass about 29 g. Sexes monochromatic, but some females show slightly duller plumage than males, especially on crown. Adult is unmistakable. It has olive green upperparts, gray breast, long greenish tail, and conspicuous reddish brown cap. White supraloral spots, submoustachial stripe, chin, throat, and belly contrast strongly with gray on head and breast. Juvenile lacks contrasts, mainly brownish gray above and white below. They are secretive in nature but give away their presence with characteristic ascending, catlike "Mew" calls (Dobbs et al. 1998).

General Distribution
Montana Range



Western Hemisphere Range

 


Summary of Observations Submitted for Montana
Number of Observations: 1044

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density

Recency

Breeding
(direct evidence "B")

Breeding
(indirect evidence "b")

No evidence of Breeding
(transient "t")

Overwintering
(regular observations "W")

Overwintering
(at least one obs. "w")


 

(Records associated with a range of dates are excluded from time charts)



Migration
In the Bozeman area, normal migration periods are May 24 to June 5 and August 25 to September 10.

Habitat
Individuals spend much of their time on or near the ground in thick, shrubby habitats. Breeders prefer species-rich shrub communities within shrub-steppe habitats, and disturbed and open areas of montane forest, often created by forest fires (Dobbs et al. 1998).

Ecological Systems Associated with this Species
  • Details on Creation and Suggested Uses and Limitations
    How Associations Were Made
    We associated the use and habitat quality (high, medium, or low) of each of the 82 ecological systems mapped in Montana for vertebrate animal species that regularly breed, overwinter, or migrate through the state by:
    1. Using personal observations and reviewing literature that summarize the breeding, overwintering, or migratory habitat requirements of each species (Dobkin 1992, Hart et al. 1998, Hutto and Young 1999, Maxell 2000, Foresman 2001, Adams 2003, and Werner et al. 2004);
    2. Evaluating structural characteristics and distribution of each ecological system relative to the species’ range and habitat requirements;
    3. Examining the observation records for each species in the state-wide point database associated with each ecological system;
    4. Calculating the percentage of observations associated with each ecological system relative to the percent of Montana covered by each ecological system to get a measure of “observations versus availability of habitat”.
    Species that breed in Montana were only evaluated for breeding habitat use, species that only overwinter in Montana were only evaluated for overwintering habitat use, and species that only migrate through Montana were only evaluated for migratory habitat use.  In general, species were associated as using an ecological system if structural characteristics of used habitat documented in the literature were present in the ecological system or large numbers of point observations were associated with the ecological system.  However, species were not associated with an ecological system if there was no support in the literature for use of structural characteristics in an ecological system, even if point observations were associated with that system.  High, medium, and low habitat quality was assigned based on the degree to which the structural characteristics of an ecological system matched the preferred structural habitat characteristics for each species in the literature.  The percentage of observations associated with each ecological system relative to the percent of Montana covered by each ecological system was also used to guide assignments of habitat quality.  If you have any questions or comments on species associations with ecological systems, please contact Bryce Maxell at bmaxell@mt.gov or (406) 444-3655.

    Suggested Uses and Limitations
    Species associations with ecological systems should be used to generate potential lists of species that may occupy broader landscapes for the purposes of landscape-level planning.  These potential lists of species should not be used in place of documented occurrences of species (this information can be requested at: http://mtnhp.org/requests/default.asp) or systematic surveys for species and evaluations of habitat at a local site level by trained biologists.  Users of this information should be aware that the land cover data used to generate species associations is based on imagery from the late 1990s and early 2000s and was only intended to be used at broader landscape scales.  Land cover mapping accuracy is particularly problematic when the systems occur as small patches or where the land cover types have been altered over the past decade.  Thus, particular caution should be used when using the associations in assessments of smaller areas (e.g., evaluations of public land survey sections).  Finally, although a species may be associated with a particular ecological system within its known geographic range, portions of that ecological system may occur outside of the species’ known geographic range.

    Literature Cited
    • Adams, R.A.  2003.  Bats of the Rocky Mountain West; natural history, ecology, and conservation.  Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado.  289 p.
    • Dobkin, D. S.  1992.  Neotropical migrant land birds in the Northern Rockies and Great Plains. USDA Forest Service, Northern Region. Publication No. R1-93-34.  Missoula, MT.
    • Foresman, K.R.  2001.  The wild mammals of Montana.  Special Publication No. 12.  Lawrence, KS: The American Society of Mammalogists.  278 p.
    • Hart, M.M., W.A. Williams, P.C. Thornton, K.P. McLaughlin, C.M. Tobalske, B.A. Maxell, D.P. Hendricks, C.R. Peterson, and R.L. Redmond. 1998.  Montana atlas of terrestrial vertebrates.  Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.  1302 p.
    • Hutto, R.L. and J.S. Young.  1999.  Habitat relationships of landbirds in the Northern Region, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station RMRS-GTR-32.  72 p.
    • Maxell, B.A.  2000.  Management of Montana’s amphibians: a review of factors that may present a risk to population viability and accounts on the identification, distribution, taxonomy, habitat use, natural history, and the status and conservation of individual species.  Report to U.S. Forest Service Region 1.  Missoula, MT: Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana.  161 p.
    • Werner, J.K., B.A. Maxell, P. Hendricks, and D. Flath.  2004.  Amphibians and reptiles of Montana.  Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company. 262 p.

Food Habits
Seeds, small insects and some fruit (Dobbs et al. 1998).

Reproductive Characteristics
Builds a bulky nest concealed in shrubs. Eggs are short subelliptical to short oval in shape. They are pale, tinted sky blue turquoise, with reddish brown speckling. Clutch size typically 3 to 4. Nests with eggs have been found from May 27 to July 4. Egg dates are probably similar to those for Colorado: May 19 to June 30.

References
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View WorldCat Record   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. Check-list of North American birds. 7th edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. 829 pp.
    • Andrews, R., and R. Righter. 1992. Colorado birds: a reference to their distribution and habitat. Denver Mus. Nat. Hist. xxxviii + 442pp.
    • Bock, C.E., M. Raphael, and J.H. Bock. 1978. Changing avian community structure during early post-fire succession in the Sierra Nevada. Wilson Bull. 90: 119-123.
    • Burleigh, T.D. 1972. Birds of Idaho. The Caxton Printers, Ltd., Caldwell, ID. 467 pp.
    • Casey, D. 2000. Partners in Flight Draft Bird Conservation Plan Montana. 281 pp.
    • Chalfoun, A. 2005. Habitat use and quality for non-game shrub-steppe birds, Final performance report
    • Dobbs, R. C., P. R. Martin, and T. E. Martin. 1998. Green-tailed Towhee (Pipilo chlorurus). Species Account Number 368. The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved 3/25/2008 from The Birds of North America Online database: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/
    • Dobbs, R.C., P.R. Martin, and T.E. Martin. 1998. Green-tailed Towhee (Pipilo chlorurus). In The Birds of North America, no. 368 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
    • Dobkin, D. S. 1992. Neotropical migrant landbirds in the Northern Rockies and Great Plains. U.S.D.A. For. Serv. N. Region Publ. R1-93-34. Missoula, Mont.
    • Dobkin, D.S. 1994. Conservation and management of neotropical migrant landbirds in the Northern Rockies and Great Plains. Univ. Idaho Press, Moscow, Idaho. 220 pp.
    • Ehrlich, P., D. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The Birder’s Handbook, A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. Simon and Schuster Inc. New York. 785 pp.
    • Franzreb, K.E. and R.D. Ohmart. 1978. The effects of timber harvesting on breeding birds in a mixed-coniferous forest. Condor 80: 431-441.
    • Hayward, C.L., C. Cottam, A.M. Woodbury, and H.H. Frost. 1976. Birds of Utah. Brigham Young Univ. Press, Provo. 229 pp.
    • Hejl, S.J. 1994. Human-induced changes in bird populations in coniferous forests in western North America during the past 100 years. Pp. 232-246 in A century of avifaunal change in western North America. (J.R. Jehl, Jr. and N.K. Johnson, eds.). Stud. in Avian Biol. 15.
    • Hutto, R. L. and J. S. Young. 1999. Habitat relationships of landbirds in the Northern Region, USDA Forest Service. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-32. Ogden, UT: U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 72 pp.
    • Johnsgard, P. A. 1986. Birds of the Rocky Mountains with particular reference to national parks in the Northern Rocky Mountain region. Colorado Associated University Press, Boulder. xi + 504 pp.
    • Johnsgard, P.A. 1979. Birds of the Great Plains: breeding species and their distribution. Univ. Nebraska Press, Lincoln. 539 pp.
    • Knopf, F.L., J.A. Sedgwick, and D.B. Inkley. 1990. Regional correspondence among shrubsteppe bird habitats. Condor 92: 45-53.
    • Lenard, S., J. Carlson, J. Ellis, C. Jones, and C. Tilly. 2003. P. D. Skaar's Montana Bird Distribution, 6th Edition. Montana Audubon: Helena, MT, 144 pp.
    • Morton, M.L. 1991. Postfledging dispersal of green-tailed towhees to a subalpine meadow. Condor 93: 466-468.
    • Phillips, A., J. Marshall, and G. Monson. 1964. The birds of Arizona. Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson.
    • Powder River Eagle Studies, Inc., Gillette, WY., 1996, Spring Creek Mine 1995 Wildlife Monitoring Studies. Spring Creek Coal Company 1995-1996 Mining Annual Report. Vol. I, App. I. May 1996.
    • Raphael, M.G., M.L. Morrison, and M.P. Yoder-Williams. 1987. Breeding bird populations during twenty-five years of postfire succession in the Sierra Nevada. Condor 89: 614-626.
    • Rising, J.D. 1996. A guide to the identification and natural history of the sparrows of the United States and Canada. Academic Press, Inc., San Diego, CA. 365 pp.
    • Sedgwick, J.A. 1987. Avian habitat relationships in pinyon-juniper woodlands. Wilson Bull. 99: 413-431.
    • U.S. Forest Service. 1991. Forest and rangeland birds of the United States: Natural history and habitat use. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Agricultural Handbook 688. 625 pages.
    • Wiens, J.A. and J.T. Rotenberry. 1981. Habitat associations and community structure of birds in shrubsteppe environments. Ecol. Monogr. 51: 21-41.
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Citation for data on this website:
Green-tailed Towhee — Pipilo chlorurus.  Montana Field Guide.  Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.  Retrieved on May 22, 2013, from http://FieldGuide.mt.gov/detail_ABPBX74010.aspx
 
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