The Townsend Solitaire 
patch formed by subterminal edging on outer webs of seventh and eighth (sometimes 
ninth) primaries; greater coverts and tertials tipped with white of varying prominence; 
a blotch of white on each side of tail involving distal third of half of outermost rectrix, 
tip of second and sometimes tip of third. Bill and feet black; irides brown. Young 
birds are heavily spotted with buff above and below (showing thereby Turdine affini¬ 
ties),—above, each feather has a single large spot (rhomboidal in some, heart-shaped 
in others) of buff, centrally, and is edged with blackish, thus producing a scaled appear¬ 
ance; below, the ground color is a pale buff or buffy gray with blackish edgings to 
feathers. Length 203.2-215.9 (8.00-8.50); wing 117 (4.60); tail 103 (4.05); bill 12.4 
(.49); tarsus 20 (.79). 
Recognition Marks. —Towhee size; brownish gray coloration with spots of 
white (or pale tawny) on tail and wings. No black, as compared with a Shrike. 
Nesting. — Nest: Of coarse twigs and moss; lined with fine grasses, or rarely, pine 
needles; placed on hillside at base of tree, or under a boulder, in cranny of tree-trunk, 
stub, upturned tree-root, river-bank, road-cut, or rock-wall. Eggs: 3 or 4, rarely 5; 
white, pinkish, grayish, or greenish white; spotted sharply or diffusely, sparingly or 
heavily, with vinaceous brown and allied shades. Av. of 18 eggs from Mt. Shasta 
22.1 x 16.8 (.87 x .66); index 76. Season: May—July, according to altitude; one brood. 
General Range. —Western North America. Breeds in the Boreal zone from 
east-central Alaska, southwestern Mackenzie, and western Alberta, south through the 
Cascade-Sierras to the San Bernardino Mountains, and through the Rockies to New 
Mexico and Arizona, and in the Transition zone in the mountains of Mexico to Zacate¬ 
cas. Winters irregularly southward from southern British Columbia and Montana, and 
straggles irregularly eastward. 
Distribution in California. —Common resident of high Transition and Cana¬ 
dian zones in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Warner Mountains, and the San 
Bernardino Mountains. More sparingly resident in the Trinity Mountains and south 
to South Yolla Bolly Mountain. Found in winter at lower latitudes and levels, even 
upon the deserts and, in the Southwest, to sea-level. 
Authorities.—Gambel (Ptilogonys townsendii ), Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 
vol. iii., 1847, p. 157; Grinnell, Univ. Calif. Pub. Zool., vol. v., 1908, p. 128 (San Bernar¬ 
dino Mts.; desc. habits, nest and eggs); Beal, U. S. Dept. Agric., Bull. no. 280, 1915, 
p. 3 (food); Dawson, Condor, vol. xxi., 1919, p. 12, figs. (Mt. Shasta; habits, nesting, 
song, etc.); Whittle, Condor, vol. xxiv., 1922, p. 78, fig. (song flight). 
VIEWED from any standpoint, taxonomic, psychologic, or senti¬ 
mental, the Townsend Solitaire is a feathered Sphinx. It has been called 
Flycatcher, Thrush, and a combination of the two; but the name Soli¬ 
taire seems best to express both our noncommittal attitude toward the 
subject, and the demure independence with which the bird itself proceeds 
to mind its own affairs. Barring the matter of structure, which the 
scientists have now pretty well threshed out, the bird is everything by 
turns. He is Flycatcher, in that he delights to sit quietly on exposed 
limbs and watch for passing insects. These he meets in midair and bags 
with an emphatic snap of the mandibles. He is a Shrike in appearance 
and manner, when he takes up a station on a fence-post and studies the 
ground intently. When his prey is sighted, at distances varying from 
ten to thirty feet, he dives directly to the spot, lights, snatches, and swal- 
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