526 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 
Adult (sexes alike): Top of head and back of neck brownish-gray or clear dark gray, 
usually more or less mixed with rusty on the tips of the feathers; back and scapulars similar, 
but more broadly and heavily streaked with dark reddish-brown or chestnut; upper tail- 
coverts and upper surface of tail bright reddish-brown or chestnut; a whitish line from 
nostril to eye, sometimes continued over it to nape; another whitish line from base 
of lower mandible along lower edge of ear-coverts, separating these (which are reddish- 
brown) from a red-brown stripe which borders the throat; chin, throat and belly usually 
white or rusty white and without spots, except sometimes a few small ones on the throat; 
chest heavily spotted and sides and flanks broadly streaked with bright rufous or chestnut, 
the spots usually arrow-shaped and often bunched on the middle of the chest, forming a 
conspicuous spot or patch; usually the lower breast shows a belt of smaller and blackish 
spots with little or no rufous in them; upper surface of wings and coverts mainly bright 
rusty or chestnut, the greater and middle coverts often slightly tipped with white or rusty 
white, forming two more or less perfect wing-bars; basal half of lower mandible yellowish, 
rest of bill dusky; iris brown. Young: Scarcely different from adults. Length 6.20 to 
7.50 inches; wing 3.30 to 3.70; tail 2.80 to 3.15; culmen .43 to .47. 
1 
239. Chewink. Pipilo erythropthalmus erythropthalmus (Linn.). (587) 
Synonyms: Towhee, Ground Robin, Swamp Robin, Towhee Bunting, Jo-ree.—Iringilla 
erythropthalma, Linn., 1758, Bonap., Nutt., Aud.—Pipilo erythrophthalmus, Jardine, 
1832, and most recent authors. 
Plate LUI and Figure 120. 
Male mainly black above, with white patches in wings and tail; throat 
and upper breast black, belly white, sides chestnut or rusty-red. Female 
similar except that the black is entirely replaced by brown. The outer 
three or four pairs of tail feathers have large white “thumb-marks” which 
are very conspicuous as the bird flits from bush to bush. 
Distribution.—Hastern United States and southern Canada, west to the 
Plains, breeding from the Lower Mississippi Valley and Georgia 
northward; in winter from the middle districts southward. 
The Chewink is an abundant summer resident over most of the Lower 
Peninsula, but less common in the northernmost counties. Thus it is far 
from common about Little Traverse Bay in Emmet county, 
and $8. EK. White found a pair one season only on Mackinac = 
Island. On the other hand it seems to be very abundant — 
in Kalkaska, Crawford, and Otsego counties, in the highest ' 
parts of the Lower Peninsula. In the Upper Peninsula re 
it seems to be generally distributed but not common, ; 
most observers calling it rare, although it has been recorded from nearly 
all parts except Keweenaw Point and Isle Royale. Mr. T. B. Wyman 
of Negaunee, Marquette county, calls it “Common everywhere in cutover 
lands.” Boies says it is rare on Neebish Island, but common on the 
adjacent mainland (Chippewa county). 
In the southern part of the state a few birds occasionally winter. We 
have such records from Muskegon (Van Pelt), Ann Arbor (Covert and 
Wolcott), Plymouth (Purdy), Grand Rapids (February 22, Cole), Genesee 
county (November 24, Swales), Lansing (E. D. Sanderson, ©. J. Davis). 
Ordinarily it arrives from the south about the end of March, Swales record- 
ing it first near Detroit March 16, 1894, while his latest record there is 
November 3, 1891. At Kalamazoo spring arrivals range from March 9, 
1878 to April 12, 1893, while at Lansing it usually appears between March 
25 and April 5, and nearly a month later along the Lake Superior shore. 
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