WhenToBird

Melozone aberti · Passerellidae

When Do Abert's Towhees Arrive in Arizona?

Adult Abert's Towhee
Photo: Joseph Rojas, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Abert's Towhee is in Arizona all year. It turns up on about 30% of checklists at its peak (late October) and on 19% in its quietest week (early August).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekOct 22-31late October
Quietest weekAug 1-7early August

Best: late October. Here all year. Peak: on about 30% of Arizona checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 28% of 34758 checklistsJan 8-14: 27% of 29835 checklistsJan 15-21: 27% of 29279 checklistsJan 22-31: 29% of 39716 checklistsFeb 1-7: 28% of 27299 checklistsFeb 8-14: 28% of 28703 checklistsFeb 15-21: 28% of 35357 checklistsFeb 22-28: 29% of 29889 checklistsMar 1-7: 28% of 29932 checklistsMar 8-14: 28% of 32982 checklistsMar 15-21: 27% of 34731 checklistsMar 22-31: 27% of 50213 checklistsApr 1-7: 25% of 35788 checklistsApr 8-14: 24% of 38087 checklistsApr 15-21: 23% of 41520 checklistsApr 22-30: 22% of 55218 checklistsMay 1-7: 22% of 39688 checklistsMay 8-14: 22% of 39398 checklistsMay 15-21: 21% of 29562 checklistsMay 22-31: 21% of 36774 checklistsJun 1-7: 21% of 21313 checklistsJun 8-14: 22% of 19129 checklistsJun 15-21: 23% of 17922 checklistsJun 22-30: 24% of 21188 checklistsJul 1-7: 23% of 17325 checklistsJul 8-14: 22% of 16463 checklistsJul 15-21: 22% of 18642 checklistsJul 22-31: 20% of 31215 checklistsAug 1-7: 17% of 28163 checklistsAug 8-14: 19% of 31329 checklistsAug 15-21: 22% of 23878 checklistsAug 22-31: 24% of 28508 checklistsSep 1-7: 26% of 20878 checklistsSep 8-14: 26% of 19671 checklistsSep 15-21: 28% of 19859 checklistsSep 22-30: 29% of 25179 checklistsOct 1-7: 30% of 19420 checklistsOct 8-14: 29% of 21925 checklistsOct 15-21: 30% of 20995 checklistsOct 22-31: 30% of 29258 checklistsNov 1-7: 31% of 21269 checklistsNov 8-14: 29% of 22753 checklistsNov 15-21: 30% of 21982 checklistsNov 22-30: 30% of 29475 checklistsDec 1-7: 30% of 20810 checklistsDec 8-14: 30% of 22229 checklistsDec 15-21: 30% of 25148 checklistsDec 22-31: 29% of 39567 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Arizona that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in Arizona

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Maricopa CountyBest mid September · 4189 checklists that week, 269,896 in all53%
  2. Greenlee CountyBest the second week of December · 10 checklists that week, 2,745 in all43%
  3. Pima CountyBest the second week of October · 6357 checklists that week, 437,722 in all40%
  4. La Paz CountyBest late May · 131 checklists that week, 7,279 in all40%
  5. Yuma CountyBest the second week of June · 137 checklists that week, 14,687 in all37%
  6. Pinal CountyBest the second week of June · 399 checklists that week, 40,036 in all33%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bear CreekPima County, best the second week of January · 27 checklists that week, 788 in all100%
  2. South Area Water Recharge SiteMaricopa County, best the second week of August · 26 checklists that week, 1,913 in all99%
  3. Villa Serena ParkPima County, best late January · 22 checklists that week, 1,209 in all98%
  4. Flap (Jaynes)Pima County, best mid March · 21 checklists that week, 172 in all98%
  5. Reach 11 Rec AreaMaricopa County, best mid September · 20 checklists that week, 830 in all97%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Arizona, the Abert's Towhee is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 am (38% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%40%12 am: too few checklists (488) to judge1 am: too few checklists (503) to judge2 am: too few checklists (489) to judge3 am: too few checklists (735) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4115) to judge5 am: 39% of 38350 checklists6 am: 38% of 118786 checklists7 am: 35% of 183415 checklists8 am: 31% of 187346 checklists9 am: 26% of 151342 checklists10 am: 22% of 124522 checklists11 am: 19% of 97088 checklists12 pm: 18% of 78110 checklists1 pm: 18% of 73059 checklists2 pm: 18% of 68912 checklists3 pm: 19% of 68060 checklists4 pm: 21% of 69387 checklists5 pm: 22% of 52951 checklists6 pm: 20% of 31061 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (16076) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5352) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2369) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1100) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (604) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January28%27%27%29%
February28%28%28%29%
March28%28%27%27%
April25%24%23%22%
May22%22%21%21%
June21%22%23%24%
July23%22%22%20%
August17%19%22%24%
September26%26%28%29%
October30%29%30%30%
November31%29%30%30%
December30%30%30%29%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: year-round, peaks mid November
  • Utah: winter visitor, peaks mid November

Common questions

When do Abert's Towhees arrive in Arizona?
The Abert's Towhee is in Arizona all year. It turns up on about 30% of checklists at its peak (late October) and on 19% in its quietest week (early August).
When do Abert's Towhees leave Arizona?
The Abert's Towhee does not leave Arizona: it is reported all year, from 19% of checklists in early August to 30% in late October.
When is the best time to see a Abert's Towhee in Arizona?
The Abert's Towhee is reported most often in late October, on about 30% of Arizona checklists.
Where in Arizona are Abert's Towhees seen most often?
By county, Maricopa County, Greenlee County, and Pima County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Abert's Towhee (counties with at least 200 checklists).