NORTHERN BROWN TOWHEE. Pipilo crissalis carolae McGregor

Field characters.—Size large for a sparrow; length nearly that of Robin, but body smaller, more plump-appearing, and tail longer (nearly as long as body). Plumage almost uniformly brown, with no contrasted white or black markings; area beneath base of tail bright reddish brown. Voice: Call or alarm note, a single, rather loud metallic peep; song merely a rapid repetition of the same sort of note with decreasing intervals between them; occasionally, as when courting, a series of curious whining or squealing sounds is given.

Occurrence.—Resident west of Sierra Nevada in both Sonoran zones but more common in Upper Sonoran; ranges sparingly up into lower edge of Transition, as at Smith Creek (2800 feet) and above El Portal (to 3300 feet). Hops about margins of brush patches and along trails and roads, ordinarily in pairs, even through the winter, never in flocks.

No more characteristic bird of the lower chaparral belt could be named that the brown towhee; none takes kindlier to the modifications wrought by human occupancy. This trait of the bird, together with its choice of forage ground, in openings at the margins of thickets, about clearings, and along roads, renders it one of the first species to meet the eye of the traveler. El Portal lies well within the range of the brown towhee, and here one may see the bird commonly about the buildings and even from the stage as the latter starts off with its load up the road toward Yosemite. The foraging birds are so loath to leave the open road ahead of the approaching stage that they are often nearly overtaken before they realize their plight and take to the brush in pell-mell flight, uttering a startled succession of alarm notes.

Brown, in a word, characterizes the coloring of this towhee. Among all the many members of the sparrow family which inhabit the Yosemite region there is none more somber colored. True, the garb of the female blue grosbeak is dull, but she is of much smaller size and has a shorter tail, and is to be found only along watercourses in the Lower Sonoran Zone. The brown towhee on the other hand is found in a wide variety of situations, up as far as the beginning of the yellow pine belt. The two sexes are exactly alike, and entirely lack spots, streaks, or stripes of either white or black.

Roadways over the brush-covered hillsides, grassy spots beneath digger pines or blue oaks, and gardens and similar spots adjacent to human habitations are the common haunts of these birds. They spend most of their time in the open but never venture far from some good shelter such as a brush thicket, blackberry tangle or osage-orange hedge. They come about barns or dwellings where there are oaks or other trees or vines near at hand in which they can take quick refuge.

The manner in which the brown towhee makes use of any new source of food is shown by an incident which occurred at El Portal early in December, 1914. As a freight truck laden with grain moved up the road en route to Yosemite one of the sacks which it carried dropped a narrow stream of rolled barley. Soon brown towhees, in company with California jays and spurred towhees, had found the trail and were industriously gleaning the scattered grains all along the road. The towhees also appropriate grain which has dropped from horses' feed bags or which has been accidentally scattered in a barnyard.

When hopping about in search of food the brown towhee carries its tail straight out behind, or often slightly drooped. In flying the tail is widely spread and much used in steering and stopping; its large area when spread makes of it an effective rudder for a bird dodging about through brush or low trees. In courting, the male sometimes carries his tail up at a decided angle with the back, at the same time hopping 'corner-wise' toward his mate.

In late May and early June of 1915, when our field parties were at Snelling, Pleasant Valley, and Smith Creek, many nests of the brown towhee were found. The season was already well advanced, and of the nests which had not been disturbed by natural enemies all but one held young. At Snelling on May 26, bob-tailed young were out of the nest and with their parents in the willow and blackberry thickets, while on June 5 at Smith Creek a nest was found with young only two or three days old, and another held eggs nearly ready to hatch. In 1919, a nest found near Lagrange on May 6 held four eggs far advanced in incubation while another nest was found completed but without eggs. Three or four constituted a brood in all the instances recorded.

The nests are placed in shrubs such as Ceanothus, or in small oak trees and are situated from 3 to 8 feet above the ground. At Smith Creek all the nests found but one were placed in Ceanothus integerrimus bushes although there were several other kinds of shrubs available in the vicinity. The exceptional nest found at the last named locality was placed on the ground and constructed entirely of strips of bark of the incense cedar. The usual nest measures 5 or 6 inches across and 5 inches high, and has a central cavity 2 inches deep by about 3 wide. The material used in construction consists of twigs and weed stems with fine grasses and frequently, for lining, horsehair.

The brown towhee subsists upon a wide variety of food materials, almost entirely of a vegetable nature, and, as indicated above, is quick to make use of any unusual source that may offer itself.