630 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETEST 237 ^^rt 2 



Casual record. — Casual north to Grand Canyon, Arizona. 



Egg dates. — Arizona: 73 records, March 3 to September 8; 38 

 records, May 2 to June 12. 



New Mexico: 20 records, March 22 to July 8; 10 records. May 21 

 to June 13. 



PIPILO FUSCUS RELICTUS van Rossem 



Harquahala Brown Towhee 

 Contributed by John Davis 



Habits 



This race, described by A. J, van Rossem (1946b), has a very 

 limited distribution in Yuma and Maricopa counties, Aiiz., where it 

 is restricted to the Harquahala Mountains and Eagle Eye Peak. 

 P. /. relictus allegedly differs from P. j. mesoleucus in the relatively 

 darker coloration of its dorsum, sides, flanks, and throat. However, 

 the brown towhees of the Harquahala Mountains vary considerably 

 in color, and many individuals are indistinguishable from mesoleucus. 



The Harquahala brown towhee is resident in a vegetation composed 

 in part of scrub oak, manzanita, mountain mahogany, Ceanothus, and 

 laurel, which differs markedly from the surrounding desert vegetation 

 at lower elevations. Nothing is known of its Ufe history. 



Distribution 



Range. — The Harquahala brown towhee is resident in the Harqua- 

 hala Mountains in southwestern Arizona, above 2,500 feet. 



PIPILO FUSCUS MESATUS Oberholser 



Colorado Bro^vn Towhee 

 Contributed by John Davis 



Habits 



This subspecies, described by H. C. Oberholser (1937), is differ- 

 entiated from P. /. mesoleucus by its paler pileum, browner coloration 

 of the dorsum, sides, and flanks, longer wing, and higher wing-tail 

 ratio. A locally common resident of the pinon-juniper association 

 of southeastern Colorado, northeastern New Mexico, and northwestern 

 Oldahoma, the Colorado brown towhees are limited in their occurrence 

 to the west by the eastern ranges of the Rocky Mountains, and to the 

 north by the constriction of the pinon-juniper association north of 

 the Arkansas River. 



