WITH BROWN PREDOMINATING 251 



the species commonly met with in the San Diegan dis- 

 trict, and from there north to the valleys about Pasa- 

 dena. Unless you have the two birds in hand, you are 

 likely to mistake it for the Californian towhee, so similar 

 is it iu^form and habits. 



The song of the Anthony Towhee is less liquid and 

 more metallic in quality. It is most effective in tlie 

 twilight, when one singer after another takes up the 

 short refrain, tossing it from bush to bush like the echo 

 of fairy bells. 



592.1. GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. — Oreospta 

 chlorura. 



Family : The Finches, Sparrows, etc. 



Length: 6.35-7.20. 



Adults : Crown bright chestnut ; upper parts grayish olive, merging to 



bright olive-green on wings and tail ; throat, malar stripe, and middle 



of belly white ; edge of wing and under wing-coverts yellow. 

 Young: Grayish olive above, streaked with dark gray ; under parts 



whitish, streaked with dark. 

 Geographical Distribution : Rocky Mountains to the coast, north to 



Mt. Shasta, south to Lower California. 

 California Breeding Range : Higher Sierra Nevada and desert ranges from 



Mt. Shasta to San Bernardino mountains. 

 Breeding Season : June. 

 Nest: On or near the ground, in cactus, sagebrush, or chaparral; of 



twigs and weed stems ; lined with grass. 

 Eggs : 3 or 4 ; whitish, speckled with chestnut. 



In the higher Sierra Nevada, where the solitaire and 

 leucosticte form the mountain chorus, look for the Green- 

 tailed Towhee. Among all the mountain songtsters lie 

 has few rivals. Whether perchcil on top of a clump 

 of clia{)arral pouring out his rich l)ell-like music in 

 the half-light of evening, or dodging among the dense 



