Editing Spotted towhee (section)

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2014}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Pipilo maculatus 2.jpg
|status = LC
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Pipilo maculatus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T103772680A95006324 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T103772680A95006324.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
|genus = Pipilo
|species = maculatus
|authority = [[William Swainson|Swainson]], 1827
|range_map = Pipilo maculatus map.svg
| range_map_caption = {{leftlegend|#FF7F2A|Breeding}}{{leftlegend|#7137C8|Year-round}}{{leftlegend|#5F8DD3|Nonbreeding}}{{leftlegend|#87CDDE|Nonbreeding (scarce)}}
}}

The '''spotted towhee''' ('''''Pipilo maculatus''''') is a large [[American sparrow|New World sparrow]]. The taxonomy of the towhees has been debated in recent decades, and until 1995 this bird and the [[eastern towhee]] were considered a single species, the '''rufous-sided towhee'''.<ref name="r9" /> Another outdated name for the spotted towhee is the '''Oregon towhee''' (''Pipilo maculatus oregonus''). The call may be harsher and more varied than for the eastern towhee.

Individuals in the [[Socorro Island]] population are much smaller than other spotted towhees, and show distinctive gray upper-parts. That population is sometimes treated as a species: the '''Socorro towhee''' (''Pipilo socorroensis'').