TOWNSEND'S OREGON JTJNCO 1093 



collected about the large end." The tlurd egg shows a faint greenish 

 wash and is also the most heaxdly marked of the set, being hea\dly 

 blotched on the larger end with, pale lilac, the lilac extending in small 

 flecks over the entire shell. Measm-ements in millimeters are 19 by 

 15, 19 by 15 and 19 by 14. 



Plumages. — Anthony (1889) describes the plumage of his type 

 male as: "Head, neck and breast all around, clear, slatey, gray, 

 much darker than J. annectens, but paler than J. hyemalis oregonus. 

 Lores and crown, blackish. Dorsal and interscapular region, ashy 

 brown, in some specimens scarcely difl'ering from the head and neck. 

 Rump and upper tail coverts ashy, first two lateral rectrices pure 

 white, the rest blackish with ashy edges. Wings, blackish, primaries 

 and secondaries with grey edges. Sides, pink. Belly and inder 

 tail coverts, white. Mandibles and feet, flesh color. Iris, hazle." 



Of a female cotype he writes: "Head, neck and chest all around, 

 uniform dark gray, lighter than male. Lores, blackish. Dorsal 

 patch, very faintly defined. Rump, clear ashy. Pink of sides, paler 

 and less extensive than male. Lower parts white. Outer three 

 rectrices white, third edged with dusky. Iris, hazle." 



Field marks. — Townsend's Oregon junco is a gray-headed junco 

 with narrow "pink" sides resident in the San Pedro Mdrtir of Lower 

 California. It shows some resemblance to the pink-sided junco, the 

 race mearnsi of the Rocky Mountains, but the color area in the sides 

 of towsendi is narrower. There are no records of mearnsi taken within 

 the range of toivnsendi, although other Oregon junco races, thurberi and 

 to some extent shufeldti, winter that far south and mixed flocks may 

 be expected. 



Fall and winter. — Joseph Grinnell (1928b) says: "Common resident 

 on the Sierra San Pedro Mdrtir. * * * A slight scattering in the 

 fall carries a few individuals to somewhat lower levels close by." 

 Weather conditions must play a part in flights to lower levels when 

 such occur. E. W. Nelson (1922) writes: "The summits of these 

 mountains are never covered with snow during the entire winter but 

 usually only for periods of from two to four weeks. In midwinter 

 snow falls far below the lower border of the pine tunber. Anthony 

 writes that it falls down to about 2,500 feet above sea level on the 

 west base of the mountains and it sometunes reaches as far as Val- 

 ladares." 



Distribution 



Range. — Townsend's Oregon junco is resident in the Sierra San 

 Pedro Mdrtir (lat. 31°10'N. to 30°36'N.) in northern Baja California. 

 In winter, some movement to lower altitudes, sporadically to San 

 Agustin, latitude 30° N. 



