478 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YOSEMITE 



spots ('thumb marks') at end of tail, and belly, white; sides of body orange brown. 

 (See pi. 48c.) Male with black more intense than in female; young quite different, 

 streaked. Voice: A cat-like mewing call or alarm note, and a trilled song sounding like 

 to-whee-e-e-e , the first syllable inaudible beyond a short radius. 



Occurrence. — Fairly common at lower altitudes both east and west of Sierra Nevada. 

 On west slope common in Upper Sonoran Zone but ranges up into Transition and down- 

 ward locally into Lower Sonoran (subspecies falcinellus) . Also east of the mountains 

 in vicinity of Mono Lake (subspecies curtatus). In late summer and until severe 

 winter weather, individuals wander upward through the Canadian Zone.32 Lives in 

 brush thickets and forages on ground beneath such cover, seldom venturing into the 

 open. Solitary. 



In the group of big ground-dwelling sparrows which includes the 

 towhees and fox sparrows, the Spurred Towhee exhibits an extreme type 

 in both structure and coloration. Its stout body, long tail, short rounded 

 wings, large legs and feet, and heavy curved claws (pi. 48c) proclaim it 

 to be a brush dweller and ground forager. The short wings and long tail 

 may serve to enable it to move about rapidly within obstructing growths 

 where locomotion must be accompanied by many short turns and twists, 

 while the heavy armament of claws makes scratching a productive method 

 of unearthing food. 



The preferred haunt of the Spurred Towhee is a ra\ane-side thicket 

 within ready reach of water. The birds venture into the open somewhat 

 more than do fox sparrows but not so much as do the bro^vn towhees. 

 During the warmer months the leaf -covered brush and tall growths of 

 grass and other annual plants form protecting shelters under which the 

 Spurred Towhees can forage unseen; but in midwinter and early spring 

 when rain and wind have battered down the grasses and shaken off most 

 of the leaves the birds are much more exposed. Even then their broken 

 pattern of coloration would be protective in effect were it not for their 

 almost incessant activity. But when a towhee takes flight from one thicket 

 to another its brilliant coloration flashes forth vividly ; a predominance 

 of black is seen, but the white dots on the shoulders and wings, and the 

 white 'thumb marks' at the end of the fan-shaped spread tail, introduce a 

 decided element of contrast. 



The spotted towhees closely resemble the fox sparrows in manner of 

 foraging. They habitually scratch in the earth and leaf mold under 

 thickets and berry tangles, repeatedly springing up and kicking backwards 

 with both feet at the same time. Often an observer's attention is first 

 attracted to the presence of the birds by the sight or sound of the small 

 showers of debris resulting from this vigorous mode of foraging. 



During the breeding season the males are accustomed, particularly 

 toward evening, to ascend by series of short hops and flights to the tops 

 of large bushes or small trees, and there to repeat their monotonous but 

 not unpleasant song, tii-wheeze. At other seasons of tlie year they are 



