For Day 6 of California Towhee Week, we’re presenting the “birb” factor of this charming bird.
If you’re unfamiliar with the internet slang word “birb,” we can best describe it as a term of endearment used to refer to a ridiculously cute bird. Extra points are given for being particularly round, fluffy, or silly. For some examples, check out our post: 10 Good Birbs (I’m Birbing Right Now).
In many postures, the California Towhee is naturally rotund. Unfamiliar with the identity of this species, several friends of ours have referred to it as the “fat brown bird.” With its already-plump shape, any level of feather-fluffing tends to cause instant birb status.
Feast your eyes on a few extra-birby California Towhees we’ve had the pleasure of meeting.
Last, but not least, here’s an extra-special California Towhee birb – one with partial leucism. As defined by Merriam-Webster, leucism is: “an abnormal condition of reduced pigmentation affecting various animals […] that is marked by overall pale color or patches of reduced coloring and is caused by a genetic mutation which inhibits melanin and other pigments from being deposited in feathers, hair, or skin.”
We encountered this bird in our neighborhood recently, and finally managed to photograph it yesterday. How adorable is this special birb?
If you’re interested in more about California Towhees, check out the rest of the series!
Day 1: It’s National California Towhee Week: Let’s Celebrate!
Day 2: California Towhee: Subtle Beauty
Day 3: California Towhee: What Are You Saying?
Day 4: California Towhee: Mates for Life
Day 5: California Towhee: Two Broods Are Better Than One!
Day 7: California Towhee: Friend of the Fox
Really appreciating this National Towhee Week! Thank you for making me smile and look at my local Towhees with so much more love.
Yay, mission accomplished!! 🙂
So cute! I do love birds that have an “already-plump shape” ♡
Definitely, us too! Hard to resist that roundness! 🙂