Green-tailed Towhee 397 



Distribution. — Breeding throughout the mountainous parts of western 

 United States, from Montana to New Mexico and Cahfornia ; south 

 in winter to middle Mexico and Lower California. 



The Green-tailed Towhee is an abundant summer bird throughout 

 the western mountainous half of Colorado, but is found but seldom 

 east of the foothills on the plains, except in Baca co., where Warren 

 (06) met with it commonly at Monon, on the Kansas border, in May. 

 It reaches Colorado Springs about the end of April, though Aiken has 

 taken one as early as March 19th, and leaves again at the end of 

 September, spending the intervening time in the moimtains, chiefly 

 at elevations of 7,500 to 9,000 feet ; the highest record I have met 

 with is Gale's, who found several nests near Ward, in Boulder co., at 

 10,000 feet. 



Other records are as follows : Estes Park (Kellogg), Clear Creek 

 CO. (Trippe), Denver (Henshaw), Resolis, Elbert co. (Aiken), Pueblo 

 (Beckham), Fort Lyon (Thorne apud Cooke), Wet Moiuitains (Lowe), 

 Mosca Pass, breeding (Aiken), Breckenridge, breeding, 9,500 feet 

 (Keyser), Routt co., Garfield co., and Crested Butte (Warren), San 

 Juan CO. (Drew) and La Plata co. (Gilman), Mesa co. (Rockwell). 



Habits. — This Towhee is a sprightly and active bird, 

 and though far from uncommon, is not so often seen 

 owing to its retiring and shy nature ; it is chiefly met 

 with in moist thickets along the mountain streams ; 

 it has a pleasing song, but the call note closely resembles 

 the scold of a Catbird. The nest is placed on the ground 

 or in low bushes from twelve to twenty-four inches 

 above the ground, and is constructed of coarse, wiry 

 grass and other plant stems, and lined with finer material 

 of the same nature, with the occasional addition of a 

 few horsehairs ; Gale describes the eggs as clear white 

 with a speckling of warm brown, and states that the 

 full clutches of four or five may be looked for between 

 Jime 15th and 25th at 7,000 feet, and between June 

 30th and July 10th at 10,000 feet in Boulder co. Warren 

 found this bird very common in the neighbourhood of 

 Crested Butte, in Gunnison co., and examined a nest 

 built in a low sage brush ; it contained three young 

 birds about ten days old, on July 10th ; the nest was 



