"I'm a little teapot"

  Mom taught me that little song oh, so many years ago.  The little ditty with its cute little hand motions was a hit with me when I was a tyke. Being a teapot had a certain appeal back then.  Now, I am quite sure it would be offensive as teapots are indeed "short and stout".  I might resemble that part of the song but would never...ever...want to be reminded of the fact!  Still, while I was out roaming the hillside after a particularly hard rain, the song started jingling around in the brain almost causing me to burst out in jubilant melody.  Why?  Well, all because of a bird or several birds, in fact.  You see, a group of Eastern Towhees is called a Teapot of Towhees.  Why?  Well, I have no idea but it just is.

  The towhees were being quite jubilant themselves this afternoon. Several male birds were "singing in the rain" as I slipped along silently on the wet ground.  As I eased up to one fine bird behind the canebrake, I realized the cause of his joy.  His brood of tiny baby birds was taking advantage of the break in the rain.  It was their time to leave the nest.  I stopped short as I did not want to scare the little ones nor did I want to cause undue stress on the parent birds.  Since towhees nest on or near the ground, the little ones were already in the thickets and could hardly be spotted.  Mama Towhee could be heard chiding her little ones to stay far from the open areas but it was that joyful Daddy that caught my attention!  He sat about five feet from me singing his happy song,  The males are such striking birds and with all the racket he was making, it is a wonder that something had not already caught him.  I suppose towhees are just smart birds.

  I backed out of the little family's territory and headed around the marsh edge toward the Bayou.  There, I found yet another male Eastern Towhee high in a treetop.  This was unusual as these are more often found closer to the ground.  This guy was sitting high up in a dead hickory tree.  His call was loud and clear but was more yearning and not happy-go-lucky.  Again and again, he notified all to "Drink your tea!" which is what the experts say the bird's song resembles.  Yep...I could hear that!  I suppose that one call is what lead to their unusual group moniker..."Drink your tea!", said the Teapot of Towhees!  I figured that was a good idea so I picked a handful of persimmon leaves and headed to the kitchen to brew me a mug of persimmon leaf tea flavored with fresh ginger root and a bit of honey.  Thanks for the advice, Mr. Towhee!