Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. See towhee.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A name of the towhee bunting, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, a fringilline bird of the United States. Also called ground-robin and marsh-robin.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An american bird (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) of the Finch family, so called from its note; -- called also
rufous-sided towhee ,towhee ,towhee bunting andground robin .
WordNet 3.0
- n. common towhee of eastern North America
Etymologies
- Imitative of its call.
Examples
“In his attire he closely resembles the towhee, or "chewink," of the East, but has as an extra ornament a beautiful sprinkling of white on his back and wings, which makes him look as if he had thrown a gauzy mantle of silver over his shoulders.”
“It is no "chewink" at all, but almost as close a reproduction of a cat's mew as is the catbird's well-known call.”
“On the third or fourth of May I saw a loon in the pond, and during the first week of the month I heard the whip-poor-will, the brown thrasher, the veery, the wood pewee, the chewink, and other birds.”
“His habit is continued in the spring by the towhee, or chewink, who uses the same methods, throwing both feet backward simultaneously.”
“From -- -- one could not see where, came a vireo, and almost at the same time a chewink had something to say.”
“The chewink in his harlequin suit of black, white, and chestnut varies his sharp and cheerful "Chewink" with a musical little strain, "Do-fah, fah-fah-fah-fah," and one of the white-throated sparrows now and then stops feeding and flies up to a hazel twig to give his sweet and plaintive little "pea-a-body, peabody, peabody.”
“That is why the chewink sings so happily from dawn till dark.”
“Her eyes missed nothing; her dainty close-set ears heard all -- the short, dry note of a chewink, the sweet, wholesome song of the cardinal, the thrilling cries of native jays and woodpeckers, the heavenly outpoured melody of the Florida wren, perched on some tiptop stem, throat swelling under the long, delicate, upturned bill.”
“My notes say that it is "a cross between the song of the chewink and that of dickcissel," and I shall stand by that assertion until I find good reason to disown it -- should that time ever come.”
“Some crows followed the workers at a distance, hunting for grains of corn, and over in the woods, a chewink scratched and rustled among the deep leaves as it searched for grubs.”
Lists
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reesetee Obsolete name for the Rufous-Sided Towhee. Also see chiwink. Dec 6, 2007