628 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 part 2 



Among their resorts were the small cliffs scattered along the river, where they 

 poked about among the masses of fallen rocks at their bases, and in the clefts 

 and gullies by which they were intersected. They were apt to be found, too, about 

 the Mexican villages, where they might be seen perched on the high adobe walls 

 surrounding a courtyard, or exploring the ruins of some deserted house that 

 offered a safe retreat in case of alarm. Perhaps, however, the places where they 

 were most numerous were some small irrigated fields on the outskirts of one of 

 these little villages. Where these fields bordered the river or an irrigating ditch, 

 they were fringed with bushes, chiefly willows, that were a favorite haunt of the 

 Towhees. Here one would sometimes be seen running along and then stopping, 

 somewhat like a Robin on an earthworm hunt. Their run really consists, how- 

 ever, of a series of rapid hops. There is much that is Thrush-like about their 

 air and motions, and if seen from behind one might almost be mistaken for a 

 Robin, its form and attitudes are so similar, though it does not stand as upright 

 as a Robin very often does. As a rule they kept on the ground but now and then 

 they would get up in a bush or even in a low tree, but as soon as a Towhee saw he 

 was attracting attention he immediately shifted his position or retired silently 

 with a swift low flight to some safer place. 



Though they commonly go in small flocks I am inclined to think that some at 

 least remain paired throughout the year. They are not infrequently found in 

 couples; in one such case dissection proved them to be male and female; in another 

 when I had shot one bird the survivor showed evident signs of distress. 



F. M. Bailey (1923) says of the canyon towhee: "It was one of the 

 commonest birds of the mesquite and catsclaw as well as of the 

 canyons in the region of McCleary's (Nicholson's) during the winter 

 and spring of 1920-1921. Several were caught in traps set for live 

 mammals, evidently attracted by the popular rolled oats." She also 

 mentions finding it in January 1923 in groups of two, three, or four 

 on the ground along roads. 



Voice. — The usual song of the canyon towhee is a series of six or 

 seven double syllables, all alike and evenly spaced, as chili-chili-chili- 

 chili-chili-chili. The song may begin or end with a different note, 

 or it may begin with a faint rendition of the usual call note. Some 

 series are of single notes, others are in fine trills like those of juncos. 

 At its worst the song is a dull series of chilps, but at its best it is a gay, 

 sustained jingle to be compared with that of a titmouse. A male 

 whose dawn singing has been dull and perfunctory during late winter 

 and early spring will become transformed into a poUshed singer when 

 his mate disappears to incubate. At that time it is evident, as it has 

 been in unpaired males, that the charm is lent by the variety of the 

 songs resorted to, each variation prevailing for a series of several songs. 

 The more brilliant the songs, the more frequently are their patterns 

 changed. 



The ordinary call note, used also as an alarm note, is a two-syllable 

 tscheddap, of which the second syllable may be suppressed to tschedd'p. 

 This call is explosively uttered and is "rusty," that is, rather hoarse. 



