Mountain or Spurred Towhee 393 



The female resembles the male but is slightly smaller — wing about 

 3-20, and has the black duller and of a more sooty shade. Young 

 birds are tinged with rufous on the back, and are streaked below with 

 •dusky. 



Distribution. — Breeding from British Columbia and central Cali- 

 fornia eastwards to Wyoming, Colorado and western Texas, south in 

 winter to northern Mexico. 



The Mountain Towhee is a very common summer bird throughout 

 Colorado in the plains, and at the lower elevations up to about 7,500 

 feet, occasionally reaching as high as 10,000 feet. It usually arrives 

 about the end of March or beginning of April in the neighbourhood 

 of Colorado Springs, and at correspondingly earlier and later dates 

 to the south and north. It again leaves for the south in September. 

 Aiken's latest date is September 26th. 



The following are recorded localities : Weld co. (Markham), Boulder 

 CO. (Henderson), Idaho Springs, occasionally to 9,000 feet (Trippe), 

 Lincoki co. (Aiken), Pueblo (Lowe), Baca, Routt, Montrose and Gar- 

 field COS. (Warren), La Plata (Morrison), San Juan co. (Drew), Mesa co. 

 (Rockwell). 



Habits. — ^The Mountain, or as formerly called, the 

 Spurred Towhee, is rather a skulking bird, keeping near 

 or on the ground in thick bush and scrub-oak, where 

 it scratches away the fallen leaves for its food. It is 

 often betrayed by its loud, harsh call-note, which closely 

 resembles that of a Catbird, and is quite different from 

 that of the Chewink (P. erythrophthalmus) of the east, 

 though most observers say that its song is almost the 

 same. 



The nest is placed on the ground or in a low bush, 

 often in scrub-oak or wild-rose bushes ; it is built up of 

 bark strips, leaves and grass. Fresh eggs are to be fomid 

 in the neighbourhood of Denver (Dille 03) about June 

 12th, while Dennis Gale gives May 25th to June 10th 

 for Gold Hill. The eggs, four or five in number, are 

 pale greenish or blueish, finely speckled with brown and 

 lavender, chiefly at the larger end. They measure 

 •95 X -68. 



