FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC.: CANYON TOWHEE 715 
grayish brown; throat pinkish buff, bordered by dusky triangular spots, chest with 
obsolete patch; median underparts whitish, sides yellowish brown becoming ochra- 
ceous-buff on under tail coverts. Young in juvenal plumage: Essentially like adults 
but brown cap not evident, buffy throat patch not so pronounced, and underparts 
streaked with dusky (Chapman). Upperparts dull grayish brown, indistinctly 
streaked with darker, wings with pale rufous band and edgings, underparts dull 
white changing to reddish brown on under tail coverts, breast streaked with black¬ 
ish; iris pale brown. 
Range. —Upper Sonoran Zones from west^central and southern Arizona and 
southern Colorado south to western Texas and northeastern Sonora. 
State Records. —In the Upper Sonoran Zone of New Mexico, the Canyon 
Towhee is a common resident of quite general distribution east to the Guadalupe 
Mountains (Bailey), Sacramento and White Mountains (Hollister), Capitan Moun¬ 
tains (Gaut), Santa Rosa and Montoya (Bailey). Its fange includes nearly all 
of northeastern New Mexico, since it was noted at Las Vegas (Batchelder); along 
Red River, Colfax County (Kalmbach); and at Apache Canyon, Sierra Grande, 
Folsom, and Oak Canyon (Howell). [In the Sangre de Cristo Range it is seen rather 
commonly about the mouths of canyons, where they widen out at the edge of the 
desert country, generally from about 7,500 feet down (Ligon, 1919). In northern 
Santa Fe County it is abundant on the pinyon flats (Jensen).] Westward it ranges 
across the State and has been noted along the Chama River, in Santa Clara Canyon, 
at San Isidro, Juan Tafoj^a, Cubero, Acoma, Joseph, and San Francisco Canyon 
(Bailey). In the mountains it does not ascend much beyond the lower foothills, 
being common up the Pecos to Glorieta, 7,400 feet (Henshaw); to about the same 
altitude above the town of Pecos (Bailey); less common to Willis 7,800 feet (Birt- 
well). In going down from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains we met with it at an 
altitude of 8,000 feet in Hondo Canyon, but as the young were full grown at this 
time (August 12, 1904), the nesting site may have been several hundred feet lower 
(Gaut). About 7,000 feet seems to be its normal upper limit in northern New 
Mexico, while in the southwestern part it ceased to be common in the Florida, Big 
Hatchet, and Animas Mountains above 6,000 feet. In these mountains it nested 
to the base of the foothills at 5,000 feet (Goldman), while at Santa Rosa it nested 
as low as 4,600 feet (Bailey). 
[A nest with newly hatched young was found, April 14, 1918, near Santa Fe, 
but the usual nesting dates are May 20-JuIy 15 (Jensen).] Eggs were found June 
16, 1899, near the base of the Capitan Mountains; a nest June 28, 1894, at Silver 
City (Fisher); young still being fed at San Pedro, July 9, 1889; and it was noted 
in the Guadalupe Mountains, August S, 1901 (Bailey); [near Culberson Ranch, 
Grant (Hidalgo) County, a nest with one egg was found May 7, 1920; at Chloride, 
fresh eggs were found in cactus at 6,200 feet, May 28, 1916; and one-half mile west 
of Chloride, about 6,200 feet, a nest with very small young was found August 9, 
1919 (Ligon)]. 
It is non-migratory except for a small vertical movement, spring and fall, and 
for a slight spreading out in winter, when it goes east to Fort Sumner (Gaut), 
descends to Garfield (Goldman) and to Mesilla (Merrill), while at the same time 
it remains up to about 6,000 feet in the southern San Andres Mountains (Gaut). 
It was noted to 8,000 feet in Hondo Canyon and a specimen was collected at Gold 
Camp, January 23, 1903 (Surber). In Union County it was abundant November 
5, 1915 (Ligon), and several were seen at Currumpa, January 15, 1894 (Seton); 
in the Guadalupe Mountains it was common from 4,000-6,500 feet in January, 
1915, [fairly common in December, 1916 (Willett)]; and south of Queen, common, 
December 31, 1915; at the south end of the San Mateo Mountains it was common, 
