Spotted towhee

California has these beautiful birds called spotted towhees.  They like hanging out in bushes.  You may notice that every picture in this post involved some kind of bush.  Their eyes are bright orange/brown; the same color as their wings.  

The first time that I heard one, I waited for 30 minutes to catch a glimpse.  You can hear their call here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Spotted_Towhee/id.  

There is a northeastern towhee that has the same coloring as the spotted towhee, except no white spots on the wings.  They must not be as common as the spotted towhee because I've never seen one in all my years growing up in Massachusetts.  I see the spotted towhee, on the other hand, about 25% of the time that I'm in an area with underbrush.

You can really see the wing spots in this picture.

They won't stay out in the open for very long, but when they're covered, they'll sing for hours in the same spot.