EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 115 



585c. Slate-colored Sparrow, Passerella iliaca schistacea. 

 Eggs, as a rule, scarcely distinguishable fvom those of No. 

 685a, but the spottings are perhaps a little more purplish. 

 Nests not placed on the ground. Breeds in the Rocky Moun- 

 tain region of the United States, in June. 



586. Texas Sparrow, Embernagra rujivergata. Eggs, 2 

 to 4, rounded oval, pale blue, unspotted. Bi-eeds in the valley 

 of the Lower Rio Grande, in Texas, and in Eastern Mexico. 



587. TowHEE, Pipilo erythrophthalmus. Eggs, 4 or 5, ellip- 

 tical, ashy white, spotted, dotted, and blotched with reddish 

 brown and lilac ; .70 -|- -90 to .75 -{- .95. Rather fine pale 

 markings characterize the eggs of the black-backed towhees. 

 Nests placed on the ground, composed of grass, leaves, and 

 strips of bark, lined with fine grass. Breeds in Eastern United 

 States and Southern Canada, west to the plains, in May and 

 June, but is locally distributed. 



587a. White-eyed Towhee, Pipilo alleni. Eggs, 3 or 4, 

 elliptical, creamy Avhite, spotted and dotted with reddish 

 brown; .70 -|- .95 to .75 -|- 1.00. Nests placed in bushes, com- 

 posed of grass, weeds, rootlets, lined with fine grass. Breeds 

 in Florida, north to South Carolina, in April and May. 



588. Arctic Towhee, Pipilo maculaUis arcticxis. Eggs, 

 4 or 5, oval, Avhite, spotted and dotted so thickly with umber 

 as nearly to conceal the ground color ; .68 -j- .95 to .70 -\- 1.00. 

 Nests placed on the ground, and are similar to those of No. 

 587. Breeds on the plams of the Platte, Upper Missouri, 

 Yellowstone, and Saskatchewan Rivers, west to the eastern 

 slope of the Rocky Mountains, in June. 



588a. Spurred Towhee, Pipilo maculatus megalonyx. 

 Eggs, 4 or 5, rather elliptical, greenish or white, thickly and 

 finely spotted with reddish and purplish brown ; .65 -|- .95 to 

 .70 -|- 1.00. Nests placed on the ground, composed of leaves, 

 grass, and strips of bark. Breeds in the Rocky region of the 

 United States, west to the Sierra Nevada and Southern 

 California, in May and June. 



