California Towhee
Melozone crissalis
The California towhee's coloring is dull brown overall with light rust undertail covert feathers and buff or rust-colored streaks at the throat. There is little sexual dimorphism. California towhees have the short, rounded wings of a sparrow, as well as a long tail and a thick beak which is used for cracking seeds. However, the towhees are larger and bulkier than sparrows. Both sexes of towhee generally grow to be 8.3–9.8 in (21–25 cm) in length, with a wingspan of about 11.4 in (29 cm). They weigh 1.3–2.4 oz (37–68 g).
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Canyon Towhee
Melozone fusca
It is 19 to 25 cm (7.5 to 9.8 in) long, and has a noticeably long tail, at 8.2 to 11 cm (3.2 to 4.3 in). This species weighs from 36.5 to 67 g (1+1⁄4 to 2+1⁄4 oz), though on average weigh only around 45 g (1+1⁄2 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 8.2 to 10.1 cm (3.2 to 4.0 in), the bill is 1.4 to 1.7 cm (0.55 to 0.67 in) and the tarsus is 2.3 to 2.7 cm (0.91 to 1.06 in).
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where you might meet both
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Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: California Towhee and Canyon Towhee.