FiMN<;iLLii).K — TiiK FiN("ni:s. I'JT 



caftons of that re«'ion. Thcv were almost alwavs in or about the thick 

 chiini)S of ])ushes, several usiijilly beiuu; in coiiii>aiiy. 



Dr. Kennerly, wh(» met with tliem on a second trij), in June, 1855, near Los 

 Nogales, in Mexico, speaks of them as not very coninum in that region. He 

 found them ])referring the dense hushes in the valleys. When apjnoached, 

 they became very restless, Hying from one bush to another, accompanying 

 their motions with very peculiar notes, which he does not describe. 



Dr. Coues found this .s]»ecies abunchmtly distrilaited througliout the 

 warmer portions of Xew Mexico and Arizona, from the valley of the IJio 

 Grande to that of the Colorado. He did not ob.serve any at Fort Whij»]>le, 

 though they were found breeding some twenty-five miles to the southward. 

 He found them associating freely with Pipi/o ahnii, and inhabiting the same 

 regions. The two birds have very similar habits. 



Dr. Henry also states that this species is common in New ]\Iexico both 

 summer and winter, and, so hir as he has observed, dwelling almost entirely 

 among the mountains. It a])peared to him very retiring in its habits, and 

 seemed to prefer the canons. He has seldom, if ever, observed it far from 

 shady gorges, where, like its relative of the Eastern States, the Towhee 

 Bunting, it passes the greater jiart of its time on the ground, and is gener- 

 ally accompanied by its congener, the Arctic Finch. When disturbed, it 

 seeks the thickest cover, though it is by no means shy or difiicult to a])proach. 

 Its nest is usually constructed in the branches of a thick cedar or dwarf oak, 

 and he has never known it to produce more than one brood in a season. 



Dr. Coo]>er states that these birds are very alamdant in Southern Arizona, 

 that their habits closely resemble those of P. ahcrti, and that their eggs are 

 similar to those of Pipilo J'uscus. 



Pipilo fuscus, var. albigula, Baiud. 



CAPE TOWHEE. 



Pipilo alhifjHla, Baiud, P. A. N. S. Nov. 18.59, 305 (Cape St. Lucas). — Klliot, Illust. 

 Am. Birds, I, pi. xv ("=/'. nicsolcucus"). — i^yiOVV.Kj Orn. Cal. 1, 248. 



Sp. Char. Similar to var. meaoleucus^ havinrr, like it, a distinctly rnfouss crown ami 

 white abdomen. DiOering. however, in the lollowing respects: The pale oehraceous 

 gular area is more sharply defined, the bulf being confined within the encircling series 

 of dusky spots ; the bntT is palest posteriorly, instead of directly the opposite. The 

 nifous of the crissal region is more restricted, only tingeing the a- region instead of 

 mvading the lower part of the abdi^nen, the white beneath also is shifted farther back, 

 covering the abdomen alone, instead of the breast, the whole jugulum being distinctly 

 ashy, like the sides. Wing, 3.80 ; tail, 4.25. 



Hab. Cape St. Lncas. 



A very large series of specimens from Cape St. Lucas agree in possession 

 of the characters pointed out above, distinguishing them from mcwlcucus, 

 to which race the present one is most nearly related. 



