WITH BROWN PREDOMINATING 303 



754. TOWNSEND SOLITAIRE. — Myadestes townsendl 



Family : The Thrushes, Solitaires, Bluebirds, etc. 



Length: 7.80-9.50. 



Adults: Upper parts brownish gray, under parts lighter ; two white bars 



on wing ; tail-feathers edged with white on outer' web and across end ; 



bill short, flattened at base ; legs weak. 

 Young : Plumage, except wings and tail, spotted with buff; wings and 



tail brownish gray, marked like those of the adults. 

 Geographical Distribution : From British Columbia to Mexico and from 



the Black Hills to the Pacific, chiefly along highest altitudes. South 



in winter to Southern United States. 

 California Breeding Range : Local in the high Sierra Nevada from Mt. 



Shasta to San Bernardino mountains. 

 Breeding Season : June. 

 Nest: Bulky ; of twigs, pine needles, and grass or moss ; on the ground, 



under roots of overturned trees, in crevices, in banks, or among rocks 



near watei'. 

 Eggs: 3 to 6 ; pale ashy or whitish, sjjotted with rusty. Size 0.93 X 



0.67. 



Among all the forest singers of California, the Town- 

 send Solitaire is without a rival ; and were he as easily 

 lieard as is the mockingbird or the thrush, he, and not 

 they, would be the theme of the poet's verse. Only in 

 tlie majestic solitude of rugged mountains, when all the 

 world is silent, will he pour out his soul in music ; and 

 to hear him at his best requires hard climbing and long, 

 patient waiting. In the highest Sierra Nevada his song 

 rings clear morning and evening ; and on a tall, dead 

 tree, sharply outlined against the sky, you may discover 

 the Inipjiy singer. As you watch, suddeidy, without 

 pausing in his burst of melody, he flies outward and up- 

 ward, higher, higher, singing as lie goes, until the silver 

 notes fall like a shower of music which the listening 



