Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley.
| www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
Mayhew
1947
Mar. 1
Strawberry Canyon, U.C. campus, Alameda Co., Calif.
About 9 A.M. a pair appeared near the top of
a willow thicket. The ♀ has a lighter colored
head than the ♂, except for an occasional
note, the pair were quiet.
About 9:30 A.M. another individual was heard
singing at fairly regular intervals on the side
of Big C Hill.
May 7
U.C. campus, Alameda Co., Calif.
At 3:10 P.M. today I located a Spotted
Towhee's nest on the ground in a
clump of shrubs & trees next to Allston
Way between LSB and the Men's Gym.
The nest was constructed of rather
course grass about a foot from a
foxglove plant 5 feet high. The nest
was so well hidden that I couldn't
find it for quite a while, even
though I saw the ♂ land in the
grass nearby with food in his mouth.
Finally I found it when I saw the
♀ leave the nest. The nest area was
completely surrounded by redwoods, and
there was an abundance of redwood
needles all over the ground around
the nest. The nest site was in a
hollow so that the top of the nest
was flush with the surface of the
ground covering. The nest was about
3 1/2" in diameter and about 2" deep.
Two young birds were in the nest.