WhenToBird

Pipilo maculatus · Passerellidae

When Do Spotted Towhees Arrive in Arizona?

Adult male Spotted Towhee
Photo: Tser, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Spotted Towhees are in Arizona all year, but most are here in summer: numbers build from late April, peak in the second week of June (14% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of August. In the quietest week (mid September) they are still on about 5.4% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildApr 22-30late April
PeakJun 8-14the second week of June
Fall back byAug 8-14the second week of August
FewestSep 15-21mid September

Best: the second week of June. Here all year; numbers build from late April and fall back by the second week of August. Peak: on about 14% of Arizona checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 7.0% of 34758 checklistsJan 8-14: 6.4% of 29835 checklistsJan 15-21: 6.1% of 29279 checklistsJan 22-31: 6.5% of 39716 checklistsFeb 1-7: 6.4% of 27299 checklistsFeb 8-14: 6.7% of 28703 checklistsFeb 15-21: 7.4% of 35357 checklistsFeb 22-28: 7.6% of 29889 checklistsMar 1-7: 7.6% of 29932 checklistsMar 8-14: 7.2% of 32982 checklistsMar 15-21: 7.2% of 34731 checklistsMar 22-31: 7.5% of 50213 checklistsApr 1-7: 7.6% of 35788 checklistsApr 8-14: 8.9% of 38087 checklistsApr 15-21: 9.1% of 41520 checklistsApr 22-30: 9.8% of 55218 checklistsMay 1-7: 11% of 39688 checklistsMay 8-14: 12% of 39398 checklistsMay 15-21: 13% of 29562 checklistsMay 22-31: 13% of 36774 checklistsJun 1-7: 14% of 21313 checklistsJun 8-14: 14% of 19129 checklistsJun 15-21: 14% of 17922 checklistsJun 22-30: 13% of 21188 checklistsJul 1-7: 13% of 17325 checklistsJul 8-14: 14% of 16463 checklistsJul 15-21: 13% of 18642 checklistsJul 22-31: 12% of 31215 checklistsAug 1-7: 12% of 28163 checklistsAug 8-14: 11% of 31329 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.9% of 23878 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.2% of 28508 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.9% of 20878 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.5% of 19671 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.8% of 19859 checklistsSep 22-30: 5.7% of 25179 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.3% of 19420 checklistsOct 8-14: 7.1% of 21925 checklistsOct 15-21: 7.5% of 20995 checklistsOct 22-31: 7.7% of 29258 checklistsNov 1-7: 7.4% of 21269 checklistsNov 8-14: 7.0% of 22753 checklistsNov 15-21: 7.7% of 21982 checklistsNov 22-30: 7.6% of 29475 checklistsDec 1-7: 7.5% of 20810 checklistsDec 8-14: 7.7% of 22229 checklistsDec 15-21: 9.1% of 25148 checklistsDec 22-31: 8.0% 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. Yavapai CountyBest the second week of July · 1053 checklists that week, 83,606 in all39%
  2. Gila CountyBest the second week of July · 191 checklists that week, 14,834 in all39%
  3. Greenlee CountyBest the second week of July · 86 checklists that week, 2,745 in all31%
  4. Cochise CountyBest late June · 2902 checklists that week, 190,093 in all24%
  5. Navajo CountyBest mid June · 452 checklists that week, 18,838 in all20%
  6. Apache CountyBest mid May · 362 checklists that week, 12,931 in all20%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Granite Basin LakeYavapai County, best late July · 20 checklists that week, 1,004 in all93%
  2. Miller Peak Wilderness (Hunter Spring)Cochise County, best late July · 29 checklists that week, 581 in all93%
  3. Calcord SpringsMaricopa County, best late August · 31 checklists that week, 1,084 in all93%
  4. Coconino National Forest (Mountain View Ranches)Coconino County, best the second week of May · 20 checklists that week, 252 in all93%
  5. Miller Peak WildernessCochise County, best the second week of July · 28 checklists that week, 1,953 in all92%
  6. Butterfly SpringYavapai County, best the second week of May · 49 checklists that week, 550 in all88%

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

Best time of day

In Arizona, the Spotted Towhee is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (11% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%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: 11% of 38350 checklists6 am: 10% of 118786 checklists7 am: 11% of 183415 checklists8 am: 11% of 187346 checklists9 am: 10% of 151342 checklists10 am: 9.1% of 124522 checklists11 am: 8.3% of 97088 checklists12 pm: 7.7% of 78110 checklists1 pm: 7.4% of 73059 checklists2 pm: 6.6% of 68912 checklists3 pm: 6.2% of 68060 checklists4 pm: 5.3% of 69387 checklists5 pm: 4.6% of 52951 checklists6 pm: 4.4% 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
January7.0%6.4%6.1%6.5%
February6.4%6.7%7.4%7.6%
March7.6%7.2%7.2%7.5%
April7.6%8.9%9.1%9.8%
May11%12%13%13%
June14%14%14%13%
July13%14%13%12%
August12%11%8.9%7.2%
September5.9%5.5%4.8%5.7%
October6.3%7.1%7.5%7.7%
November7.4%7.0%7.7%7.6%
December7.5%7.7%9.1%8.0%

Neighboring states

  • New Mexico: year-round, peaks early July
  • Nevada: arrives mid April, 1 week earlier than Arizona
  • Utah: year-round, peaks late November
  • California: year-round, peaks late May

Common questions

When do Spotted Towhees arrive in Arizona?
Spotted Towhees are in Arizona all year, but most are here in summer: numbers build from late April, peak in the second week of June (14% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of August. In the quietest week (mid September) they are still on about 5.4% of checklists.
When do Spotted Towhees leave Arizona?
Spotted Towhees never fully leave Arizona: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of August, but some are still reported in every week, about 5.4% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Spotted Towhee in Arizona?
The Spotted Towhee is reported most often in the second week of June, on about 14% of Arizona checklists.
Where in Arizona are Spotted Towhees seen most often?
By county, Yavapai County, Gila County, and Greenlee County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Spotted Towhee (counties with at least 200 checklists).