How to Attract Eastern Towhee to Your Yard
The honest, data-backed way to attract Eastern Towhee to your yard — the feeders and food they actually use (black-oil sunflower), nesting help, and habitat that brings them in.
Want to bring Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) to your yard? Here is the honest, data-backed version — the feeders and food they actually use, whether they will take a nest box, and the habitat that keeps them coming back. Every recommendation is drawn from real bird-science sources (the Cornell Lab, Audubon and their peers), not guesswork.
The best feeders for Eastern Towhee
Largely a ground feeder that 'double-scratch' forages in leaf litter and takes seed spilled below elevated feeders — put seed on the ground or a low tray right at a brushy edge (it also uses platform and, less often, hopper feeders) and it will venture out from cover to eat.
Feeder styles that work for this bird:
- ground / scattered seed
- platform / tray feeder
- hopper feeder
Seed feeders
Our take
If you only buy one thing, get a tube or hopper feeder and fill it with sunflower hearts — it suits the widest range of garden songbirds.
Shop by what matters to you
- Tube feederFinches, tits and other small, agile birds (searches Amazon in a new tab)
- Hopper or “house” feederA wide mix of garden species (searches Amazon in a new tab)
- Platform or tray feederGround-feeders like doves, sparrows and juncos (searches Amazon in a new tab)
- See all seed feederBrowse the full range and compare current prices (searches Amazon in a new tab)
What to feed Eastern Towhee
The foods this species takes most readily:
- black-oil sunflower
- hulled sunflower
- cracked corn
- safflower
- peanut hearts
- white proso millet
- milo
Seed & feed
How to attract Eastern Towhee to your yard
Give it brushy, shrubby, overgrown borders with deep leaf litter to scratch through — its single strongest habitat need. Feeders placed near a dense vegetated edge let towhees emerge to feed; native fruiting shrubs (blackberry, blueberry) and unraked leaf litter under shrubs support its ground foraging and its ground/low-shrub open-cup nest.
See it near you
For the full profile — photos, sounds, range and ID — see the Eastern Towhee species page. To find where it is being reported right now, use Birds Near You.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best feeder for Eastern Towhee?
Largely a ground feeder that 'double-scratch' forages in leaf litter and takes seed spilled below elevated feeders — put seed on the ground or a low tray right at a brushy edge (it also uses platform and, less often, hopper feeders) and it will venture out from cover to eat.
What do you feed Eastern Towhee?
Eastern Towhee readily takes black-oil sunflower, hulled sunflower, cracked corn, safflower, peanut hearts, white proso millet and milo.
Will Eastern Towhee use a nest box?
No — Eastern Towhee is not a cavity nester and will not use a nest box. It builds an open nest, so cover and habitat help more.
