i(5o THE SPURRED TOWHEE. 



No. 65. 

 SPURRED TOWHEE. 



A. O. U. No. 588 a. Pipilo maculatus montanus Swartli. 



Synonyms. — Chewink. "Catbird." 



Description. — Adult male: Head and neck all around, chest and upperparts 

 black, glossy anteriorly, duller on back ; elongated white spots on scapulars, on 

 tips of middle and greater coverts and on outer web of exposed tertials ; edge of 

 wing white and succeeding primaries white on outer web ; outermost pair of 

 rectrices edged with white on outer web; the three outermost pairs terminally 

 blotched with white on inner web and the fourth pair touched with same near 

 tip ; breast and belly white ; sides, flanks and crissum light cinnamon rufous, 

 bleaching on under tail-coverts to light tawny. Rill black ; feet brownish ; iris red. 

 Adult female: Similar to male but duller : l)lack of male replaced by slaty with an 

 olivaceous cast. Length of adult males: 7.50-8.50 ( 190.5-215.9) ; wing 3.17 ('86') ; 

 tail T).()T, f 100) ; bill .53 ( 13-5) : tarsus 1.07 (27.7) ; hind claw .48 ( 12.2). Female 

 a little less. 



Recognition Marks. — Standard of "Chewink" size; black, white and cin- 

 namon-rufous unmistakable; hcoTily spotted with white on scapulars and wing as 

 compared with P. in. Oregon us. 



Nesting. — Nest: on the ground in thicket or at base of small sapling, a 

 bulky collection of bark-strips, pine needles, coarse dead grass, etc., carefully lined 

 with fine dry grass; measures 5 inches in width and 3 in depth externally by 2^3 

 wide and 1^2 deep inside. Eggs: 3-5, usually 4, grayish white or pinkish white 

 as to ground, heavily and uniformly dotted with light reddish brown. Av. size, 

 .93 X .70 (23.6x17.8). Season: last week in April, last week in May and first 

 week in June ; two broods. 



General Range. — Breeding in Upper Sonoran and Transition zones from the 

 Rocky Mountains to the Cascade-Sierras and in the Pacific coast district of 

 central California, and from Lower California and Northern Mexico north into 

 British Columl)ia : retiring from northern portion of range in winter. 



Range in Washington. — Common summer resident east of the Cascades, 

 found in foothills and mountain valleys up to 3,000 feet; casually resident in 

 winter. 



Authorities. — P. m. inegalony.v, Brewster, B. N. O. C. VH. Oct. 1892, 

 p. 227. D-. Ss'. Ss-. J. 



Specimens.— (U. of W.) P'. Prov. C. 



ALTHO of Mexican stock, our western Towhee does not differ greatly 

 in appearance from the familiar bird (P. erytliropJithaliinis) of the East; 

 and its habits so closely resemble that of the eastern bird as hardly to require 

 special description. The Spurred Towhee is a lover of green, thickety hill- 

 sides and brushy flraws, such cover, in short, as is lumped together under 



