TOWHEE. 359 



Titmice also, they frequently feed and hang to the twigs in 

 reversed postures. 



This form summers in the Arctic regions, and in winter migrates 

 southward, a few examples reaching the northern border of the 

 United States. 



Note. — The Greenland Redpoll {Aca?ithis hornernannii) 

 is larger than exilipes, — length sK to 6% inches. It breeds in 

 Greenland and the eastern part of Arctic America, and in winter 

 ranges as far south as Labrador. 



Brewster's Linnet {Acanthis brewsterii) is a "Redpoll" 

 without any red on its poll; it differs also from the other forms in 

 lacking the dusky spot on the throat and in having a portion of its 

 plumage tinged with yellow. The type specimen was taken at 

 Waltham, Mass., in 1870, and remains unique. The A. O. U. have 

 placed the name in that "lock-up" for suspicious characters, the 

 " hypothetical list." 



TOWHEE. 



GROUND ROBIN. CHEWINK. 

 PiPILO ERYTHROPHTHALMUS. 



Char. Black with white belly and bay sides and vent ; outer tail- 

 feathers partly white ; white spot on wing ; iris red. Female and young 

 tawny brown where the adult male is black. 



Nest. Near the margin of woodland or in an overgrown pasture ; 

 usually placed on the ground and concealed in a tuft of grass or brush- 

 heap, or under a log or bush, — sometimes fastened to a low bush ; loosely 

 made of dry leaves, grape-vines, weed-stems, and grass, lined with fine 

 grass, roots, or pine-needles. 



Eggs. 4-6; dull white thickly marked with fine spots of warm, reddish 

 brown and lilac ; sometimes the marks are bolder ; 0.95 X 0.75 



This is a very common, humble, and unsuspicious bird, 

 dwelling commonly in thick dark woods and their borders, 

 flying low, and frequenting thickets near streams of water, 

 where it spends much time in scratching up the withered 

 leaves for worms and their larvae, and is particularly fond of 

 wire-worms (or luli), as well as various kinds of seeds and 

 gravel. Its rustling scratch among the leafy carpet of the 

 forest is often the only indication of its presence, excepting 



