324 NESTS AND EGGS OF 



found the nests with eggs at intervals from May 9 to September 7. 

 These are placed in low bushes, rarely more than three feet from the 

 ground ; the nests are rather large, composed of twigs and straws, and 

 lined with finer straws and hairs ; they are practically domed, the nests 

 being placed rather obliquely, and the part above the entrance being 

 built out. The eggs are from two to four in number ; thirty-two average 

 .88 x .65, the extreme being .97 x .67 and .81 x .61 ; they are pure white. 

 Two, and probably three broods are raised in a season." 



Mr. Sennett obtained on April loth young birds and a nest con- 

 taining two eggs about to hatch. 



587. Pipilo erythrophthalmus (LINN.) [237.] 



Towhce. 



Hab. Eastern United States, west to Eastern Dakota, Kansas, Texas and Gulf coast. 



The Red-eyed Towhee, Chewink, Ground Robin, or Marsh Robin, 

 as it is variously called, has an extended distribution throughout East- 

 ern United States, from Florida and Eastern Texas on the south to 

 the Selkirk Settlements on the northwest, and as far west as the edge 

 of the Great Plains, where it is replaced by other closely allied races. 

 Breeds almost wherever found. It is a spirited bird and spends a great 

 deal of its time on the ground, hopping about among the thick under- 

 brush, frequently uttering its peculiar notes, tohee, tohee, chewink, 

 chewink, in quick succession. The shady retreats of woodlands are 

 also favorite resorts of this species. 



The nest is generally placed on the ground, at the foot of some 

 bush, or under a fallen log. It is often built on the ground in the 

 midst of deep, damp woods, well hidden in the rank grass. Occasion- 

 ally, however, this Bunting places its nest in a bush or sapling. Mr. 

 Poling states that he has taken the nest from trees as high up from the 

 ground as seven and a half feet. It is a rude structure of grapevine 

 bark, twigs, weed-stalks, leaves and grasses, lined with finer grasses 

 and rootlets. 



The eggs of the Towhee are three or four, rarely five in number. 

 Their ground-color is white, pinkish, or of a faint bluish-white. There 

 is a wide variation in the shapes and sizes of the eggs, likewise in the 

 style and distribution of their markings. In sha^e they will vary all 

 the way from oblong oval to globular; rounded-oval however, being the 

 characteristic type. They are thickly sprinkled or speckled with light 

 reddish-brown ; in some the markings are so bold and sparsely scat- 

 tered that the eggs resemble very closely those of the Cowbird, Mead- 

 ow-lark or Cardinal Red-bird. The markings in the eggs of the Tow- 

 hee, as a general rule, have a constant pinkish cast rarely found in the 



