134 YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES 



ARKANSAS GOLDFINCH 



4 



RED CROSSBILL (Loxia curviros- 

 tra): Dy^-SYi in. Body generally brick 

 red, brightest on head and rump; wings 

 and tail dusky; tips of bill crossed; tail 

 forked. Imnnature males often with or- 

 ange, instead of red, and patches of 

 olive and gray. Female: Dull olive- 

 gray with yellowish on under parts and 

 rump; wings and tail dusky. May be 

 seen in small group,s high in trees. 

 Beak adapted for prying apart scales 

 of pine and fir cones to obtain seeds. 



Frequents coniferous forests of the 

 Transition to the Hudsonian life-zone. 

 In the Yosemite region, R. in the Ca- 

 nadian and especially the Hudsonian 

 life-zones. Reported as nesting in Tu- 

 olumne Meadows. 



T 



GREEN-TAILED 

 TOWHEE .> 



^i. 6^-7 



SPOTTED TOWHEE 



GREEN -TAILED TOWHEE 



(Chlorura chlorura): 6)4-7 in. Above 

 olive-green; tail yellowish-green; fore- 

 head dark gray; crown reddish-brown; 

 white line from bill to eye and also in 

 malar region; throat and belly white, 

 separated by olive-gray breast; edge of 

 wing yellow. Immature: Lacks red- 

 dish-brown crown. Call a cat-like mew, 

 mew. 



Inhabits chiefly chaparral growth of 

 the Transition, Canadian, and Hud- 

 sonian life-zones. Scattered trees may 

 be present but forests are largely avoid- 

 ed. Thickets of ceanothus, manzanita, 

 and sagebrush are frequented. S. V. 

 in the Yosemite region ; often seen in 

 the Mariposa Grove, along the Pohono 

 Trail, and occasionally in Yosemite 

 Valley. 



SPOTTED TOWHEE (Pipilo 

 maculatus): 7-8^4 in. Head and throat 

 black; wings black, spotted and barred 

 with white; tail black with white 

 thumb-marks on outer tail feathers; 

 sides rusty-brown; belly white; eyes red. 

 Call a nasal, inquiring yeah with rising 

 inflection. Often forages in ground 

 cover of dead leaves and twigs; jumps 

 and scratches with both feet at once. 



Frequents chaparral, streamside 

 thickets, and understory brush of open 

 forests. In summer inhabits chiefly the 

 Upper Sonoran and Transition life- 



