CONSPICUOUSLY BLACK AND WHITP: 393 



bright new wedding suit of buff, black, and white, and 

 is called the '^reed bird." 



588 a. SPURRED TOWUF^E. — Hortu/anus marn/atii,s 

 moiilanus. 



Family : The Finches, Sparrows, etc. 



Length: 8.50-8.90. 



Adult Male: Head, neck, chest, and upper parts except rump black; 



rump grayish ; white patch on outer tail-feathers ; small white 



patches on wings ; belly white ; flanks chestnut. 

 Adult Fchiale : Similar to male, but brown in place of black ; back in- 

 distinctly streaked. 

 Young : Upper parts streaked black and brown ; under parts rusty. 

 Geographical Diatribution : Rocky Mountains, west to interior of Cali- 



fornia ; north througb Washington ; south to Lower California and 



Mexico. 

 California Breeding Range : Upper Sonoran and Transition zones, east 



and south of the humid coast belt nearly throughout the State. 

 Breeding Season : June 1 to July 10, 

 Neat: Of bark, leaves, and small sticks ; lined with grass ; placed on or 



near the ground in bushes. 

 Eggs: 4 or 5 ; pale greenish, linely speckled at the larger end. Size 



0.88 X 0.70. 

 Remark: The San Diego towhee, P. m. afratus, is very similar to the 



Spurred Towhee, but darker and with white markings more restricted. 



The Spurred Towhee is very like the common towhee 

 or chewink of the Eastern United States in coloring, 

 except lor tlie wliite mixed with the bhick of his back and 

 wings. He is a common bird in the dense woods of the 

 ]()\vvi' Sierra Xevada mountains, breeding in the edge of 

 tlie ch'Mriiigs, either on the ground or a few feet up, in 

 cedar saplings and manzanita bushes. Often as I have 

 seen them in a morning's tramp ti\e Spurred Towhee 

 greatly outnumbercMl other birds, ])artieuhirly if my way 

 lay through the heavy timber. 



