Xov., 1901. 
THIi CONDOR 
173 
then mounting some branch to pour forth its liquid song. At Fyffe I watched 
one on a cedar tree fifteen feet up and approached to the foot of the tree but the 
bird continued singing, unmindful of my presence, ([uite in contrast to the usual 
timid and secretive nature of this species. I have never discovered a nest of this 
bird although I have searched carefully a considerable area in which they were 
common. .-Vn old nest a foot up in a deer brush I ascribed to this species. On 
June 8, 1899 MY. Carriger flushed a thick-billed sparrow from beneath a fallen 
tree at Fyffe. The bird ran quietly along the ground and disappeared, while 
the nest was found under the log, being a depression lined with grass and con- 
taining two eggs. No more were added to the set, which was collected with the 
parent a tew days later. The thick-billed sparrow is one of the representative 
birds of the region, and withal one of its sweetest songsters. 
Pipilo maculatus megalonyx. Spurred Towhee. A common bird of the re- 
gion, occurring as far up at least as Fcho. About Fyffe it seemed impossible to 
go into the deep woods, where bird life is usuall}’ .scarce, without having a 
spurred towhee appear close at hand, uttering its catcall. On June 8, 1897 I 
found a nest containing three unfeathered young and one egg on a hillside under 
a bush. By far the prettie.st nest found was on June ii of the same 3^ear. The sit- 
uation was a small clearing in the forest grown up to cedar saplings about two feet 
high. Beneath one of these reposed the nest and its three eggs, the lining of 
light grasses setting them off to good advantage. As in the vallej' this towhee 
does not nest on the ground entirehy for Mr. Taylor found a nest on June 12, 1S97 
containing two eggs, placed six feet up in a bush beside a ditch. It was com- 
posed of pine and spruce bark and lined with light yellowish grass. On June 6, 
1899 Mr. Carriger collected a nest and four fresh eggs at h'yffe. The birds, de- 
spite their commonness, are verv interesting to watch, and soon become neighborly 
if the observer will sit (piietly in one place. 
Oreospiza chlorura. Green-tailed Towhee. A very interesting species, oc- 
('urring from Fyffe to the summit and also about Lake Valley. At h'yffe it was 
seen and heard occasionallj’ in a large burnt area, keei)ing close to the dense growth 
of deer biush. On June 12, 1897 at h'yffe I found a nest i feet up in a Ceaiio- 
thus bush, containing five fnlly fledged young, which scattered at m\’ approach. 
Observed very commonly at lichoand Mr. Taylor sent me two specimens taken in 
September at Glen Alpine Springs. 
Pipilo fuscus crissalis. California Towhee. On June 4, 1900 we observed 
this towhee at about 2,500 feet altitude in the manzanita brush on a hillside. This 
particular portion of the region resembles the Upper Sonoran more than the 
Transition zone and probably the species occurs commonly up to about this alti- 
tude. 
Zamelodia melanocephala. Black-headed Grosbeak. A common summer 
resident up to at least 4,500 feet altitude. It probably extends higher up in suit- 
able locations. The species is one of the most pleasing and constant songsters of 
the region, its rich whistle fe.sounding through the woods from day-break to dusk. 
In the mountain orchards they prey upon certain fruits such as cherries and it re- 
quires vigilance to secure even a portion of the crop. The black-headed grosbeak 
nests almost entirely in the thick deer-brush, the average height of its nests being 
ten feet and the usual complement of eggs four. When the nest is disturbed the 
male bird appears almost instanth' and much screeching follows, especially if the 
nest contains young. Numerous nests with young or fresh eggs have been 
found at Fyffe from June i to 10. 
I 1 have never noticed this grosbeak in the Glen Alpine region, nor on the 
