FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC.: SPURRED TOWHEE 713 
to 6,000 feet at Silver City (Marsh); to 6,200 feet in the Animas Mountains (Gold¬ 
man); to 7,000 feet at Fort Wingate (Hollister). From this it appears that the 
principal breeding range is a narrow vertical belt between 6,000 and 8,000 feet, 
with much the largest part of the individuals breeding between 6,500 and 7,500 
feet. It breeds rarely in the hot valleys, where a nest was found in 1913 at Mesilla 
Park (Merrill). It nests commonly in June, but in 1901 eggs were found at 8,000 
feet in the Guadalupe Mountains near the Texas line as late as August 20 (Bailey); 
eggs were also found July 22, 1913, at Mesilla Park (Merrill); [young out of the 
nest were seen about Mount Taylor July 25, 1917 (Ligon)]. 
In fall, the species ranges only slightly above its summer home, to 8,500 feet 
in the Magdalena Mountains, to 9,000 feet in the Mogollon Mountains above 
Kingston (Goldman), and to 9,000 feet in the Datil Mountains (Hollister). It 
has been noted at this season east to Fort Sumner (Gaut). 
During winter it descends to the lowest valleys of New Mexico, to Fort Fillmore 
(Henry), and to Gila (Goldman). In the Guadalupe Mountains it was seen occa¬ 
sionally to 7,000 feet in January, 1915 (Willett), and south of Queen, where one 
was seen December 31, 1915 (Ligon). It was found rare in December and January 
in the middle and southern parts of the San Andres Mountains, and on Salinas 
Peak (Gaut). A specimen was taken December 27, 1914, at Silver City (Kellogg). 
It remained at least until December as far north as Las Vegas (Batcheldcr), but 
it must be rarely that any individuals remain through the entire winter in northern 
New Mexico. 
The return from the lowlands to Cooney (about 6,000 feet) in 1889 was noted 
on March 28 (Barrell), which is about the date when the first should be expected 
in the lower parts of northern New Mexico; it was noted April 25, 1900, at Pecos 
(Birtwcll), while at Halls Peak (8,000 feet), near the upper limit of the range, the 
first was not seen in 1895 until May 5 (Barber).—W. W. Cooke. 
Nest.— On the ground or in a bush; made variously of inner bark, leaves, small 
sticks, and weed stalks lined with dry grass. Eggs: 4 or 5, pale greenish or bluish, 
finely specked with brown and lavender, massed around the larger end. 
Food. —About one-third animal to two-thirds vegetable matter. The animal 
includes alfalfa weevils, harmful beetles, ants, wasps, and bees, the black olive 
scale, grasshoppers, caterpillars, spiders, millipeds, and sow bugs. In the vegetable, 
fruit amounts to 17.7 per cent (largely wild or waste); grain 4.7 per cent (mostly 
from stubble fields); mast 15.6 per cent; weed seed 34.6 per cent, including tarweed, 
ragweed, alfilaria, and rough pigweed, with a preference for thistle and burr seeds. 
General Habits. —The handsome black Towhee, or chewink, seen 
singing cheerily with head upraised on a tree overlooking a thicket, or 
heard scratching among the dead leaves, with whose colors his russet 
sides harmonize, is one of the characteristic birds you look forward 
to finding when descending from the conifer-clad mountains to the 
middle, Transition Zone country. In the warmer parts of New Mexico, 
where Transition Zone runs high, as in the Guadalupe Mountains, the 
Spurred Towhee is found on top of the range. Here, at 8,000 feet, a 
nest was discovered by Mr. Bailey on August 12, 1901. The nest, 
which contained three fresh eggs, was well located, being sunk in the 
ground in a clump of bear grass under the protecting branches of a 
two-foot shin oak. About a week later, near the same altitude, a 
half grown Towhee with white tail corners was seen. 
