i6j 



Till-: siTKKKi) TOW iii-:e. 



Jhiff. fluff of the short wiiifjs. and .t jerk and (|uick s|)rcading of the long, 

 rounded tail, as if he Imjied thai ilu- Hash of white at its end wonld startle 

 tiie intrn<ier a\va\ 



For a nest the 

 Spurred Towhee 

 scratches a hollow 

 at the base of a 

 hush or dunii) in 

 SI mu- dry situa- 

 tion, and lines 

 this care-fully, 

 lirst witli leaves, 

 liark - strips and 

 jtlant stems, tlicn 

 with fine grasses 

 or rootlets. Tlie 

 eggs. c< >ninionly 

 four in number, 

 are deposited the 

 last week in April 

 or fust in May, 

 and the female 

 clings to iier treas- 

 ures until the 

 crushing footstep 

 is very imminent 

 Once llushed. how- 

 ever, slie kee])s to 

 the background, 

 scolding intermit- 

 tently. ,and slie 

 will not return 

 until long after 

 the excitement has 

 died down. 

 Two broods are raised each season, and the tnst one. at least, must early 

 learn to shift for itself. Tlic y<nuig birds are obscure, dun-colored creatures, 

 quite unlike their parents in appearance, and by July they infest the buck- 

 brush of the more open mountain sides in such numbers and apparent variety 

 as to start a dozen false ho])es in the miiithMlDSTisi's breast c:\ch dav. 



I Oregon. 

 NEST AND KCI'.S OF TMI 



riiolo by .1. IV. 



sri'KKKit Towni:i- 



Antliony. 



