Pipilo


Pipilo is a genus of birds in the American sparrow family Passerellidae. It is one of two genera containing birds with the common name towhee.

Taxonomy

The genus Pipilo was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816 with the eastern towhee as the type species. The name Pipilo is Neo-Latin for "bunting" from pipilare "to chirp". Within the New World sparrow family Passerellidae, the genus Pipilo is sister to the larger genus Atlapetes.

Species

The genus contains five species:
ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
Pipilo chlorurusGreen-tailed towheeinterior Western United States, with a winter range in Mexico and the southern edge of the Southwestern United States
Pipilo ocaiCollared towheeMexico
Pipilo erythrophthalmusEastern towheeeastern North America
Pipilo maculatusSpotted towheeacross western North America
Pipilo naufragusBermuda towheeBermuda; extinct