396 NESTS AND EQQS OF 



being the characteristic type. They are thickly sprinkled or speckled with light 

 reddish-brown; in some the markings are so bold and sparsely scattered that the eggs 

 resemble very closely those of the Cowbird, Meadow-lark or Cardinal Red-bird. The 

 markings in the eggs of the Towhee, as a general rule, have a constant pinkish cast 

 rarely found in the eggs of the other species. "We have already stated a means of dis- 

 tiaguishing the eggs of this species from those of the Cowbird — page 272. Ten eggs 

 measure .89x.66, .89x.68, .89x.68, .90x.71, .88x.75, .90x.73, .94x.75, .96x.74, .93x.72, 

 .96X.73; average .95x.72 inches. 



587a. WHITE-EYED TOWHEE. Pipilo erythropMhcflmus alleni Coues. Geog. 

 Dist. — Florida, Eastern Georgia and Southern South Carolina. 



The Florida or White-eyed Towhee has been found breeding as far north as 

 Beaufort county. South Carolina, by Mr. Walter Hoxie in the months of May and 

 June. Mr. G. Noble, of Savannah, Georgia, informs me that he found the White- 

 eyed in that region building chiefly in young pines from three to ten feet above the 

 ground, and that the nest resembles that of the Yellow-breasted Chat. Mr. Hoxie 

 found it nesting in pine trees ranging in height from four to twenty feet above 

 the ground. The nests were made of coarse weeds, pine needles and 

 grass, lined with finer grasses. The complement of eggs varies from two to four, 

 and considerable variation exists in their size and markings. Mr. Norris has several 

 sets of eggs taken near Frogmore, South Carolina. Their ground color is white, 

 thickly speckled with pinkish-vinaceous and pearl-gray. A set of three has one 

 egg which is covered all over with faint yellow specks, giving to the specimen a 

 light yellow-brown appearance; the other two are bluish-white unmarked; sizes, 

 .90X.69, .85X.70, .82x.68. Another set of two are of the same light bluish-white tint, 

 unmarked, and offers the following sizes: .85x.67, .87x.62. The sizes of a set of 

 three are, l.OOx.74, .95x.72. .87x.70 inches. 



588. AECTIC TOWHEE. Pipilo maculatus arcticus (Swains.) Geog. Dist.— 

 Plains of the Platte, Upper Missouri, Yellowstone and the Saskatchewan Rivers; 

 west to the base of the Rocky Mountains; south in winter to Kansas, Colorado and 

 Texas. 



The Northern or Arctic Towhee Bunting has been found in the valley of the 

 Saskatchewan, where it breeds, and on the high central plains of the Upper Missouri 

 and the Yellowstone and Platte Rivers. An abundant species in the valley of the 

 Great Slave Lake. Dr. Merrill found it in all parts of Montana wherever a stream 

 with bordering underbrush afforded shelter. There is great diversity in the time of 

 laying, or rather in the contents of nests found on about the same dates from the 

 middle of May until late in July, which was attributed more to the great number of 

 nests that must be destroyed by snakes, birds and small mammals, and to the at- 

 tempt of the parents to raise another brood, than to any other cause. The nests are 

 placed on the ground under some bush, favorite places being growths of cherry 

 shrubbery. The rim of the nest is flush with the level of the ground, the 

 birds scratching the hollow large enough to contain the nest, which is strongly built 

 of bark strips, blades of dry grass, and usually lined with yellow straw. The eggs 

 are four or five, averaging .94x.69 inches. Their ground color is white, slightly 

 tinged with greenish and covered with dots and small spots of reddish-brown and 

 lavender, most numerous at the large endi. Some specimens are so densely covered 

 with the markings that the ground color is harly distinguishable. 



