“Drink your Tee-he-he-he-hee!”

I hope you know this song.

Along with a short two-syllable call note—“to-whee”—that’s all you need to find this bird. Sometimes he’s scratching in the leaf litter, or just as often perched on top of a low shrub, staking claim to his turf.

Here in Vermont, we host the eastern towhee during their breeding season. Their entire range is mostly contained in the US, with a few crossing the border into Canada, and some non-breeding birds living all the way down to the southern tip of Texas.

This bird sat placidly on a branch above our rail trail near West Pawlet, totally unconcerned with me. When I ran out of camera angles to pursue, I left him there where I found him.

Drink your tee-he-he-he-he is an 8x8 inch acrylic on wood panel and it is now for sale here.