The well known Towhee, Ground Robin or Chewink is a bird commonly met with in eastern United States; it frequents thickets, swamps and open woods where they nest generally upon the ground and sometimes in bushes near the ground. The nests are well made of grasses, lined with fine grasses and rootlets, and the eggs, which are laid in May or June, are pinkish white, generally finely sprinkled but sometimes with bold markings of light reddish brown, with great variations. Size .90 × .70. Towhees are noisy birds and at frequent intervals, while they are scratching among the leaves for their food they will stop and utter their familiar "tow-hee" or "che-wink" and then again will mount to the summit of a tree or bush and sing their sweet refrain for a long time. 587a. WHITE-EYED TOWHEE. _Pipilo erythrophthalmus alleni._ Range.--Florida and the Atlantic coast to South Carolina. This variety is like the preceding except that the eyes are white instead of red. There is no difference between their nesting habits and eggs, except that they much more frequently, and in some localities, almost always, nest in trees. 588. ARCTIC TOWHEE. _Pipilo maculatus arcticus._ Range.--Great Plains, breeding from northern United States to the Saskatchewan. This species is similar to the eastern Towhee but has the scapulars and coverts tipped with white. They nest abundantly in suitable localities in Montana and North Dakota and more commonly north of our borders. Like the eastern Towhee, they nest on the ground under the protection of overhanging bushes, the nests being made of strips of bark and grasses and lined with fine rootlets. Their three or four eggs, which are laid during May, June or July, are pinkish white, profusely speckled with reddish brown; very similar to those of the eastern Towhee. Size .92 × .70. 588a. SPURRED TOWHEE. _Pipilo maculatus montanus._ Range.--Breeds from Mexico to British Columbia, west of the Rockies. Similar to the last but with less white on the back. The nesting habits and eggs are like those of the Towhee, but in some localities the nests are most often found in bushes above the ground. [Illustration 360: Towhee or Chewink.] [Illustration: Purplish white.] [Illustration: Pinkish white.] [Illustration: left hand margin.] Page 359 [Illustration 361: C. A. Reed. NEST AND EGGS OF TOWHEE.] Page 360 588b. OREGON TOWHEE. _Pipilo maculatus oregonus._ Range.--Pacific coast from California to British Columbia; winters to Mexico. Similar to the last but with still fewer white markings on the back and the chestnut flanks brighter. The nesting habits and eggs of this variety differ in no essential particular from those of the preceding Towhees. 588c. SAN CLEMENTE TOWHEE. _Pipilo maculatus clementæ._ Range.--San Clemente Is. and other of the Santa Barbara group. Black of male said to be duller. Probably no difference between the eggs and others. 588d. SAN DIEGO TOWHEE. _Pipilo maculatus megalonyx._