RUFOUS-SIDED TOWHEE 567 



Russell E. Miimford kindly furnished this following condensation 

 of his (1953) observation of what appears to be the highest towhee 

 nest on record: 



"On June 26, 1952, I was walking along an old road through a 

 strip of second growth woodland near Freetown, Jackson County, 

 Ind. I observed a bulky nest about 18 feet above the road placed 

 in a bushy tangle where the tops of two small saplings of shagbark 

 hickory (Carya ovata) and the vine of a wild grape (Vitis sp.) were 

 interlaced. By shaking the trees lightly, I failed to flush off any bird, 

 but a vigorous shaking caused a female Red-eyed Towhee to burst 

 from the nest noisily scolding me. I could not examine the nest at 

 this time, but on the following day took a pole with a mirror attached 

 and noted that there were eggs in the nest. The adult towhee was 

 not present at this ^dsit. The distance from the base of the nest to 

 the ground was measured and found to be 17 feet, 5 inches. About 

 an hour later, I passed the tree again, shook the nest, and the adult 

 female was again flushed off. As before, she was very excited and 

 scolded me soundly as long as I remained in the vicinity of the nest. 



"On July 4, the eggs were found beside the nest on the ground, 

 both having been knocked from the tree in some way. The pre- 

 dominate trees at the nest site were saplings of shagbark hickory 

 and white oak {Quercus alba). The nearest clearing was about 75 

 yards from the nest site and the tree canopy was completely closed 

 over the nest." 



In peninsular Florida, where P. e. alleni is the resident subspecies, 

 A. H. Howell (1932) writes that the nest is commonly placed in small 

 bushes, 1 to 4 feet above the ground. Nests are occasionally found 

 on the ground under palmetto leaves or brush piles. Howell adds 

 that three eggs comprise the usual complement and that two or three 

 broods are raised. Early nests are found in April, second broods in 

 June, and third broods in August. H. H. Bailey (1925) describes 

 a Florida nest as made of dry leaves, leaf stems, pine needles, and 

 grasses, lined with fine grasses. 



As expected, birds in the northern parts of the breeding range begin 

 nesting activities somewhat later. However, it is interesting to note 

 that by early May there are records from such points as Virginia, 

 Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Indiana (F. M. Chapman, 1932). 



F. W. Davis writes me from Amherst that "The nesting season in 

 our section of Massachusetts, based on estimated first egg dates, 

 extended from May 15 through July 5, 1960, from May 18 tlirough 

 July 8, 1961, and from May 22 through July 14, 1962." He con- 

 tinues: "I believe the male assists neither in incubating nor brooding. 

 During incubation the female tends to join the male to forage, and 

 he often accompanies her back to the vicinity of the nest, but I have 



