TOWHEE (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) 
Length, about 81% inches. 
belly white. Female brown. 
ers white tipped. 
Range: Breeds in the United States from 
Saskatchewan and southeastern Canada south 
to central Kansas and northern Georgia; win- 
ters from southeastern Nebraska and the Ohio 
and Potomac southward. 
The towhee is a frequenter of second-growth 
and of scrub, and when the visitor enters such 
precincts he is pretty sure to hear the chal- 
lenging cry, “chewink,” and to catch sight of 
the bird as it hurriedly dashes into some 
brushy thicket as if in mortal terror. The 
flight is hurried, jerky, and heavy, as though 
the bird was accustomed to use its wings only 
in emergencies. This is not far from being 
the case, as the towhee sticks close to mother 
earth and uses its great strength and long 
claws to advantage in making the leaves and 
rubbish fly in its vigorous efforts to uncover 
the seeds and insects upon which it relies for 
food. The towhee thus literally scratches for 
a living as no other of our birds does, except 
possibly the brown thrush, and the lazy man 
may well pass by the industrious ant and go 
to the towhee for inspiration. No one waxes 
enthusiastic over its musical ability, but the 
song is given with such right good will that it 
is sure to satisfy the hearer as, no doubt, it 
does the bird himself. The towhee includes in 
its bill of fare beetles and their larve, ants, 
moths, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and flies, and 
also in Texas the boll weevil. Wild fruit and 
berries complete the list. 
Male mostly black, 
Outer tail feath- 
ORCHARD ORIOLE (lIcterus spurius) 
Length, about 714 inches. 
with black and chestnut markings. 
grayish olive green. 
Our only oriole 
Female 
Range: Confined to eastern North America. 
Breeds from North Dakota, Minnesota, Wis- 
consin, Michigan, southern Ontario, central 
New York, and Massachusetts south to north- 
ern Florida, the Gulf coast and southern Mex- 
ico, west to central Nebraska and western 
Kansas; winters from southern Mexico to 
northern Colombia. 
Though clad in modest garb (for an oriole) 
and in no respect a rival of the Baltimore, the 
orchard oriole has merits of his own. As his 
name implies, he is a lover of orchards, and | 
have always associated him with the glory of 
apple orchards in full bloom and with the de- 
licious perfume with which the air is heavy. 
Amidst such surroundings, the black and chest- 
nut livery of the orchard oriole marks him as 
one of the princes of our bird world. Gar- 
dens and parks also know him well, and he is 
not averse to swinging his nest from the trees 
that shade the farmer’s house. His nest be- 
trays his connection with the family of weav- 
ers, but his skill does not equal that of the 
Baltimore and he is content with a smaller 
pensile basket made chiefly of grasses. His 
song, like his dress, is modest, but it is exceed- 
ingly sweet, and one who hears it is sure to 
pause in his walk and wish that it were longer 
and given more frequently. 
28 
CALIFORNIA BROWN TOWHEE 
(Pipilo crissalis and varieties) 
Length, about 9 inches. The long tail and 
brown plumage with white belly distinguish 
these ground- and thicket-loving birds. 
Range: Southwestern Oregon, through Cali- 
fornia. to northern Lower California. 
The brown towhees, of which the California 
form is a good type, are characteristic of the 
brushy canyons of the far west, where they 
skulk and hide among the shrubbery and cac- 
tus much as do the common eastern towhees. 
Their powers of wing are not great and their 
long tails and heavy bodies render their flight 
awkward in the extreme. On the ground, 
however, they run with great ease and speed. 
In California brown towhees are common in 
the parks and gardens, and in every way are 
very much more familiar than the related tow- 
hee of the east. Like its eastern cousin, it is 
much addicted to scratching among leaves and 
rubbish, for which work its stout legs and 
claws are particularly adapted. The thin 
“tchip,” which is the call note, seems out of all 
proportion coming from such a stout, vigorous 
body. The birds of this group are not fine 
songsters, but their simple ditties are pleasant 
to hear in the waste places where they are gen- 
erally found. 
The brown towhee is much more of a vege- 
tarian than an insect eater, and in California 
Professor Beal found that 85 per cent of its 
yearly food consists of fruit, grain, and weed 
seeds. 
BALTIMORE ORIOLE (Icterus galbula) 
Length, about 7% inches. The combination 
of black and orange marks this bird from its 
fellows. 
Range: Breeds from central Saskatchewan 
and the southeastern provinces of Canada 
south to northern Texas, Louisiana, and north- 
ern Georgia, west to Montana, Wyoming, and 
eastern Colorado; winters from southern Mex- 
ico to Colombia. 
Lord Baltimore was signally honored when 
one of our finest birds was christened with his 
name because it chanced to carry the family 
colors—black and yellow. Orioles are a trop- 
ical group and the luxuriant tropical forests 
are bright with the gleaming colors of many 
species “of these beautiful birds. Only a few 
have found their way into the temperate zone, 
but not one of the tropical species is garbed 
in more tasteful dress than this exotic “which 
has adopted the elms and sycamores of the 
temperate zone for its summer home. When 
chill November winds have stripped our shade 
trees of their foliage then are revealed the 
long, pendant nests, wrought with so much 
skill and patience by Madame Oriole, and we 
begin to realize how many of these birds sum- 
mer with us. Suitable material for the oriole 
nest is none too easily found, and the weaver 
is not so fastidious that she will not accept 
strings and yarn of any color which are hung 
out for her convenience; so that at the end of 
the oriole season the bird lover who is willing 
to cooperate with a pair of Nature’s weavers 
may fall heir to a nest made to order. 
