392 Birds of Colorado 
marked throughout with spots and blotches of various 
shades of brown and lavender, and measure ‘88 x ‘63. 
Genus PIPILO. 
Large terrestrial or semi-terrestrial Finches, exceeding seven inches 
in length, with moderate conical bills and very short and rounded 
wings; ninth (outer) primary very short, usually shorter than the 
second, seventh to fifth the longest ; tail long, clearly exceeding the 
wing and more or less graduated; feet stout and strong. Plumage 
either pied, black and white and rufous, or plain brownish; only the 
young streaked. 
This is w large genus, containing, according to Ridgway, twelve 
species, separated into some twenty-six subspecies, and distributed 
over North and Central America as far as Guatemala. 
A. Throat and chest black or dusky-brown; outer tail-feathers 
tipped with white. 
a. Tail longer, averaging 4:0; white spot on the outer tail- 
feather about 1-1 in length. P. m. montanus, p. 392. 
b. Tail shorter, averaging 3-80; white spot on the outer tail- 
feather about 1-35 in length. P. m. arcticus, p. 394. 
B. Throat and chest without black, like rest of under-parts ; tail- 
feathers without white. 
a. Crown rufous; lores not dusky. P. mesoleucus, p. 394. 
b. Crown brown like the back; lores and chin dusky. 
P, aberti, p. 395. 
Mountain or Spurred Towhee. Pipilo maculatus montanus. 
A.O.U. Checklist no 588a—Colorado Records—Allen 72, p. 150 
(P. erythrophthalmus oregonus) ; Ridgway 73, p. 192 ; Trippe 74, p. 176 
(P. mac. arcticus); Henshaw 75, p. 303; Drew 81, p. 139; 85, p. 16; 
Allen & Brewster 83, p. 191; Beckham 85, p. 142 ; 87, p. 125; Morrison 
88, p. 74; Lowe 92, p. 101; Cooke 97, pp. 18, 108, 216; Keyser 02, 
p. 36; Dille 03, p. 74; Henderson 03, p. 236; 09, p. 238; Warren 06, 
p. 23; 08, p. 23; 09, p. 16; Gilman 07, p. 157; Markham 07, p. 157; 
Rockwell 08, p. 173. 
Description.—Male—General colour above, including the head, neck 
and breast, black, shading to dusky-grey on the rump ; edges of some 
of the primaries and secondaries, tips of the middle and greater coverts, 
edges of the scapulars and some of the feathers of the back, terminal 
portions of the three outer pairs of tail-feathers and outer web, as well 
as in the outer pair, all white ; below, contre of the lower-breast and 
abdomen white, sides and flanks tawny-rufous, becoming paler on the 
under tail-coverts; iris red, bill black, feet horn-brown. Length 
8-0; wing 3-50; tail 4-0; culmen -55 ; tarsus 1-00; hind claw averages 
50; and white on lateral tail-feather 1-1 
