44 Bird Life Stories 



great end. The young are produced about the beginning of 

 June, and a second brood commonly succeeds in the same 

 season. 



This bird rarely winters north of the State of Maryland, 

 retiring from Pennsylvania to the south about the 12th of 

 October. Yet in the middle districts of Virginia and thence 

 south to Florida, I found it abundant during the months of 

 January, February and March. Its usual food is obtained by 

 scratching up the leaves; it also feeds, like the rest of its tribe, 

 on various hard seeds and gravel, but rarely commits any 

 depredation on the harvest of the husbandman, generally pre- 

 ferring the woods and traversing the bottom of fences sheltered 

 with briars. In Virginia it is called the Bulfinch, in many 

 places the Towhe-bird, in Pennsylvania the Chewink, and by 

 others the Swamp Robin. He contributes a little to the 

 harmony of our woods in spring and summer, and is remark- 

 able for the cunning with which he conceals his nest. He 

 shows great affection for his young, and the deepest distress 

 on the .appearance of their mortal enemy, the black snake. 



Geographical Distribution 



The Towhee, or Chewink, is found throughout the United States 

 from the Atlantic seaboard to the region of the Great Plains. It 

 extends northward into the southern part of Canada. It winters from 

 Virginia southward. 



