U.S. Also 8 towee, 8–9 towhe. [‘From one of its notes’ (Newton).] The ground-robin or CHEEWINK of North America, Pipilo erythrophthalmus; also towhee bird, -finch, -bunting, -goldfinch. Also any species of Pipilo.
1730. Mortimer, in Phil. Trans., XXXVI. 430. The Towhe Bird.
1791. W. Bartram, Carolina, 172. The towee birds … are very numerous.
1859. Bartlett, Dict. Amer. (ed. 2), Chewink, the ground robin…. On Long Island it is called the Towhee Goldfinch.
1893. Scribner’s Mag., June, 762/2. He utters his loud ‘Towhee,’ a note so characteristic that it has become one of his names.
