Female spotted towhee — Wikimedia photo
“The accent of one’s birthplace remains in the mind and in the heart as in one’s speech.” — Francois de La Rochefoucauld
A Southern Accent, Perhaps
Towhee … towhee!
The sound was coming from a bird hidden in a tree about halfway up Negro Bill Canyon near Moab, Utah.
Male spotted towhee
Drink ur tea … drink your tea, a reply echoed from farther up the canyon.
The sounds stopped me in my tracks. I had no intention of hiking on until I had spotted the two birds with my binoculars. I was sure I would see two different species, based on the different bird sounds they were making.
Although tucked among some small branches, I easily spotted the first bird, a male spotted towhee that gets its name from its voice. With a black head and back, rusty sides, and black wings speckled with white spots, it was an easy identification, even without the binoculars. But this basic bird-watching tool let me get a closeup look at the towhee’s bird’s brilliant red eye. Such details always delight me.
After the second bird sang out drink ur tea … drink ur tea a second time, I found it sitting in another tree. Except that its head appeared to be more of a rich brown than black, the two birds were identical. According to my field guide, this was a female spotted towhee.
Towhees, I had read, learn their songs when young, and pick up different inflections, even copy the songs of other species if they hear them frequently.
Perhaps one of these birds had a southern accent, like this native Texan. It was a fanciful thought, but it might even have been true.
Bean Pat: Brevity: Stripper Girl https://brevity.wordpress.com/2018/03/15/stripper-girl/
Always one of my favorite blogs, and this one is an example of how the world’s language changes.
Pat Bean: is a Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder. Her book, Travels with Maggie, is now up on Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/y8z7553y Currently, she is writing a book, tentatively titled Bird Droppings, which is about her late-bloomer birding adventures. You can contact her at patbean@msn.com
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