Unknown Bird

This photo was taken from the deck early Sunday morning. It was taken with the 70-300 zoom so he is acutally bigger than he looks... probably about 8 or 9 inches. He looks like a cross between some sort of a Jay and a Junco.... Couldn't find this guy in our bird book. Satch? What do you think?

Satch's reply: "Not too many years ago it was called a Rufous-sided Towhee; now, since the name change, it's called a Spotted Towhee. It's one of our resident birds (one of my favorites) and I am still amazed at its variety of calls that seem to change with the seasons. You'll see it frequently scratching through leaves and debris below shrubs around the perimeter of your yard. It you get a really close look, and the sun hits it just right, you'll see a fiery-red eye. Watch for a flash of white in the tail when it takes flight. I'm thinking you probably noticed that already because it shares that similarity with a junco. On a male, the head and other dark parts are black; the female is more brown. You'll see/hear them all year long...enjoy... the island has an abundance of them."