120 NORTH AMEUICAN BIRDS. 



killed lato in July. It wtus said to iirrive in tliat region in tlie end of May, 

 and to frequent sliady and moist chnn])s of wood. It \va.s generally seen 

 on tlie gnnind. Its lial»it.s, so far as they were observed, eorres]H)nd with 

 those of the Towliee r^mting, wliicli it tdosely resembles in external appear- 

 ance. It feeds on grubs, and is a solitary and retired, but not a distrustful 

 bird. * 



liesides its occurrence in the Valley of the Saskatchewan, these birds have 

 often l)een found on the high central plains of the Upj>er Missouri, on 

 the Yellowstone and Platte Iiivers. Audubon met with it at Fort Union. 

 Dr. Ilayden obtained it on the Yellowstone, in August ; at Fort Ij<3okout, 

 June 'I'l ; at Bijou Hills, from May 1 to the loth ; at I*on Homme Island, 

 May 1). Dr. Cooper obtained it at Fort I^ramie in September. Mr. Allen 

 found it in Colorado, where it was more abundant on the foothills than on 

 the plains. He also found this species an abundant inhabitant of the thick- 

 ets in the valley of the (Ireat Salt Lake, in its hal)its strongly resembling 

 the common birds of the Eastern States. Though its song is also somewhat 

 similar, its call-note, he adds, is totally ditlerent, very nearly resembling that 

 of the Catbird. 



Dr. AVoodhouse met with but few of these birds either in the Indian Ter- 

 ritory or in New" ^lexico. Mr. Dresser, in Xovember, 1863, when hunting 

 in the Bandera Hills, noticed several of these birds near the camp, and ob- 

 tained several near San Antonio during the winter. None of these birds 

 appear to have been observed in the Arctic regions beyond the Saskatchewan 

 Plains. 



;Mr. Xuttall met with tliis species on the western slopes of the Rocky 

 ^lountains, but as he apparently did not appreciate the difference between 

 this form and the ongoiius, we cannot determine with certainty to which his 

 descriptions apply in all cases. He found it, in manners and habits, the 

 counterpart of our common eastern species, frequenting forests and scratch- 

 ing among the dead leaves among bushes and thickets. He describes it as 

 more shy than the common species. If the nest be invaded, the male show^s 

 more boldness, and reiterates his complaints until the cause of his alarm is 

 removed. He speaks of its warble as quaint and monotonous, and very 

 similar to the notes of the Towhee, — but the note of our bird, toirhee, is 

 never heard west of the mountains. In its stead this bird is said to have a 

 note like the mew of a cat. 



The e*^*f of the arcticus is oval in shape, and measures one inch in length 

 by .70 in breadth. It has a white ground, but is so generally and so thickly 

 covered with fine dots of umber-brown, intermingled with paler markings 

 of lavender and neutral tints, that the ground can hardly be distinguished. 



