FRINGILLIBM : FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 395 



tending to swell, with more decidedly curved culmen. Tail rather longer, on an average. 

 Valley of the Colorado and Gila, and Lower California, common. 

 96. PI'PILO. (Lat. pipilo or pipio, I pip, peep, chirp.) Towiiee Buntings. Emhracing 

 numerous species and varieties of large Frinyillidm, varying much in system nf cobjration and 

 details of form, and therefore not easy to characterize concisely. Excepting one species, all are 

 over seven inches long. Bill moderate in size, conic without extremes of turgidity or compres- 

 sion, hut varying much in precise shape with the species. Feet large and strong, fitted f<jr 

 ground work ; tarsus about equalling or rather exceeding the middle toe aud claw ; lateral toes 

 suhequal, outer usually a little the longer, its claw reaching, in some cases exceeding the base 

 of the middle claw ; the claws all stout aud much curved, in some species highly devehjped. 

 Wings short and greatly rounded, about the ith-5th primary lougest, whence the quills are 

 rapidly graduated to 1st and 9th ; 1st very short. Tail long, exceeding the wings, rounded or 

 much graduated, of broad firm feathers with rounded ends. Large species, inhabiting shrub- 

 bery, and partly terrestrial. They fall in 3 sections or series. I. Black Towhees : of which the 

 only Eastern species is a typical example. In this, the sexes are very unlike, but tlie difference 

 is less in the Western varieties into wliich it runs : aU the forms are black on head and upper 

 parts, with black, white-marked wings or tail, the back also white-marked or not ; belly white, 

 sides chestnut. II. Broken Totvhees : vai'iously brown above, paler, etc., below, the sexes 

 alike. These are confined to the Southwest, where the numenjus species stand in the same 

 relation to Frintjillidce that the Soiithwestcrn forms of Haiporhi/nchus bear to Turdidts. III. 

 Green Towhees : one small species, standing alone. 



Obs. I. The black series of Pipilo offers a case nearly parallel with those of Melospisa, 

 Passerella and Jimco already discussed. There is one Eastern foi-m much more distinct from 

 the several Western ones than these are from one another. It is uniform black above, seldom 

 with a trace of white spotting on the scapulars : the 9 distinctively broMm where the ^ is 

 black. The Western ones all have spotted scapulars and sometimes also interscapulars ; and 

 9 9 are blackish, much like the (J ^. (These furthermore shade into an olivaceous j\lexiean 

 fcjrm.) P. arcticus corresponds in a way with Melospif.a heermanni, Passerella schistacea, and 

 Junco caniceps ; P. oregomis with Mehspiza guttata or nifina, Passerella xincdascm and Juneo 

 oregonus ; P. megalonyx exactly wh\i Passerella megarhyncha. It might be more consistent 

 to treat all the black Towhees as races of one incompletely specified stock ; but it is lajt easy 

 to so far ignore the sexual distinctiveness, nor the fact that though P. erijthrophthahnus has 

 occasional spots im the scapulars, its intergradation is scarcely established. II. The Brown 

 Towhees afford one remarkably distinct species, P. aherti, to be likened to Harporhynchus 

 crissalis; and others incompletely separated from each other, like H. redivivus and II. lecontii. 



Analijsh of Spf^cies and Varieties. 



1. Black Towhees. Colors of the male black, wliite, and cliestnut in definite areas. 



No wliite on tlie scapulars or wing-coverts. Sexes very unlil^e. 



Eyes red in the breeding season. Eastern U. S. at large erijthrophthalmus 301 



Eyes white in the breeding season. Florida, resident aUenl 302 



Scapulars and wing-coverts with white spots; sexes more alike. Western. 



Little if any white at bases of primaries ; none on outer web of outer tail-feathers except at end. 



oregonus 303 



White on wings and tail as in erytliroplitlmlmus, but interscapulars streaked ... arcticus 304 



Like the last; claws highly developed; sexes nearly alike megalonijx 305 



2. Broum Toiohees. Colors not definitely black, white and chestnut; no greenish; sexes alike. Southwestern. 



Grayish-brown, paler below, without blackish face ; throat and crissum fulvous or rufescent. 



Light; belly whitening; crissum yellowish-brown; necklace of dusky streaks . . . mesoleucns 30G 

 Similar; more white on throat „„,;^„,;, ,„^ 



Dark ; belly only paler ; crissum cinnamon-brown ; throat fulvous, speckled crissalis 308 



Grayish-brown, paler below; face blackish; no other decided markings . . . aberti 309 



3. Green Towhees. Colors greenish ; sexes alike. 



Crown brown, throat white, breast ashy, cilge of wing yellow, etc chlorurus 3)0 



