Green-tailed Towhee 397 
Distribution.— Breeding throughout the mountainous parts of western 
United States, from Montana to New Mexico and California ; south 
in winter to middle Mexico and Lower California. 
The Green-tailed Towhee is an abundant summer bird throughout 
the western mountainous half of Colorado, but is found but seldom 
east of the foothills on the plains, except in Baca co., where Warren 
(06) met with it commonly at Monon, on the Kansas border, in May. 
It reaches Colorado Springs about the end of April, though Aiken has 
taken one as early as March 19th, and leaves again at the end of 
September, spending the intervening time in the mountains, chiefly 
at elevations of 7,500 to 9,000 feet ; the highest record I have met 
with is Gale’s, who found several nests near Ward, in Boulder co., at 
10,000 feet. 
Other records are as follows: Estes Park (Kellogg), Clear Creek 
co. (Trippe), Denver (Henshaw), Resolis, Elbert co. (Aiken), Pueblo 
(Beckham), Fort Lyon (Thorne apud Cooke), Wet Mountains (Lowe), 
Mosea Pass, breeding (Aiken), Breckenridge, breeding, 9,500 feet 
(Keyser), Routt co., Garfield co., and Crested Butte (Warren), San 
Juan co. (Drew) and La Plata co. (Gilman), Mesa co. (Rockwell). 
Habits.—This Towhee is a sprightly and active bird, 
and though far from uncommon, is not so often seen 
owing to its retiring and shy nature; it is chiefly met 
with in moist thickets along the mountain streams ; 
it has a pleasing song, but the call note closely resembles 
the scold of a Catbird. The nest is placed on the ground 
or in low bushes from twelve to twenty-four inches 
above the ground, and is constructed of coarse, wiry 
grass and other plant stems, and lined with finer material 
of the same nature, with the occasional addition of a 
few horsehairs ; Gale describes the eggs as clear white 
with a speckling of warm brown, and states that the 
full clutches of four or five may be looked for between 
June 15th and 25th at 7,000 feet, and between June 
30th and July 10th at 10,000 feet in Boulder co. Warren 
found this bird very common in the neighbourhood of 
Crested Butte, in Gunnison co., and examined a nest 
built in a low sage brush; it contained three young 
birds about ten days old, on July 10th; the nest was 
