394 LAND BIRDS 



His vocal efforts are somewhat different from the bell- 

 like notes of the Eastern species, and have been so well 

 described by Mr. Keyser in " Birds of the Rockies " that 

 I quote his words rather than attempt a description of 

 my own : 



" It is a cross between the song of the chewink and 

 that of dickcissel. The opening syllabication is like 

 dickcissel's ; then follows a trill of no specially definable 

 character. There are times when he sings with more 

 than his wonted force, and it is then that his tune bears 

 the strongest likeness to the Eastern towhee's. But his 

 alarm call ! It is no ' chewink ' at all, but almost as 

 close a reproduction of a cat's mew as is the catbird's 

 well known call. Such crosses and anomalies does this 

 country produce ! 



" On the arid mountain sides among the stunted bushes, 

 cactus plants, sand, and rocks, this quaint bird makes his 

 home, coming down into the valleys to drink at the tink- 

 ling brooks and trill his roundelays. Many, many times 

 as I was following a deep fissure in the mountains, his 

 ditty came dripping down to me from a spot far up the 

 steep mountain-side — ■ a little cascade of song mingling 

 with the cascades of the brooks." 



588 b. OREGON TOWHEE. — Hortulanus maculatus 

 oregonus. 



Family ■ The Finches, Sparrows, etc. 



Length: 8.00-8.60. 



Adult Male : Upper parts black, with white streaks on back concealed, 

 and all white markings much restricted ; small white round spots 

 at tips of wing-coverts ; white patches on outer tail-feathers less than 

 an inch in length ; sides dark reddish brown. 



