Alabama, 1915. 63 



TOWHEE OR CHEWINK 



THIS is a bird of the swamps, brushy pastures and open wood- 

 lands. They are ground birds and usually are found scratch- 

 ing among the leaves; the male, with his black, white and 

 brown clothes, makes a conspicuous object, while the female, 

 with her brown and white dress, harmonizes with the leaves so that 

 it is difficult to see her. While his mate is sitting on her nest, the 

 male will frequently sit in a tree top and persistently sing for many 

 minutes at a time. 



The song is a loud and clear, "tow-hee-e-e" or "see-tow-hee-e-e," 

 with the last notes tremulous ; the call is a sharp "chewink." The 

 nest is usually on the ground, but rarely in bushes ; it is made of 

 strips of bark, grass and leaves. The eggs are white with reddish- 

 brown dots over the whole surface. 



The Chewink breeds in eastern North America, from the Gulf 

 States to Southern Canada, and it winters in the Southern States. 



A sub-species is the White-eyed Towhee, which has white eyes 

 instead of red and has less white on the tail ; it is found on the South 

 Atlantic coast. 



— Bird Guide. 



