248 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS 



bush to warble a few exquisitely sweet notes, the overtures of 

 the joyous music which, later in the year, enlivens the northern 

 solitudes whither the birds resort to breed." The nest has not 

 been found within the limits of the United States or Ontario, so 

 far as I am aware, but in the list of Birds of Western Manitoba 

 Mr. Seton mentions it as breeding abundantly on Duck Mountain. 



Genus PIPILO Vieillot. 



226. PIPILO ERYTHROPHTHALMUS (Linn.). 587. 



Towhee. 



Adult male, black, belly white, sides chestnut, crissum fulvous-brown ; 

 primaries and inner secondaries with white touches on the outer webs ; outer 

 tail feathers with the outer web and nearly the terminal half of the inner web 

 white, the next two or three with white spots, decreasing in size ; bill black- 

 ish ; feet pale brown; iris red in the adult, white or creamy in the jom??^, 

 and generally in winter specimens. Female, rich warm brown where the male 

 is black ; otherwise similar. Very young birds are streaked brown and 

 dusky above, below whitish, tinged with browr and streaked with dusky. 

 Length, male, 8^ ; wing, 3^; tail, 4; female rather less 



Hab. Eastern United States and Southern Canada, west to the Plains. 



Nest, on the ground, more rarely in a bush or sapling ; a rude structure, 

 composed of grape-vine bark, weed stalks, leaves and grass ; lined with fine 

 vegetable fibre. 



Eggs, 4 to 6 ; white, thickly freckled with reddish-brown. 



This species has a more northern range than we have been 

 in the habit of attributing to it, for it is mentioned both by Prof. 

 Macoun and Mr. Seton as being common in the Northwest 

 Territory. In Southern Ontario it arrives from the south about 

 the ist of May, the males coming on a few days ahead of the 

 females. Much of their time is spent on the ground, scratching 

 and rustling about among the withered leaves in search of seeds 

 and insects. During the pairing time, the male will frequentl}' 

 rise from the scrub bush to the lower branch of a tree and sing 

 his original song in his best style, accompanying the performance 

 with many a jerk and flirt of his long handsome tail, which 

 shows to advantage on these occasions. If we sit down to 



