66 



THE OSrREY. 



hope of taking' more specimens, when one morn- 

 ing-, July 17, as I rode up the trail, a Rivoli flew 

 into a sycamore ju.st ahead of me. Stopping to 

 watch her for awhile. I was surprised to see her 

 fly right over me, and I turned around just in 

 time to see her settle on a nest in a small maple, 

 25 feet over the trail. Here was something dif- 

 ferent, as the other three nests and a deserted 

 one had been all over water. An easy climb 

 put me on a level with the nest and then the 

 work began. Rope and net came in play again, 

 as, indeed, they did with all four nests. While 

 I was trying to get within reach the female 

 made numerous dashes at me. She would fly 

 from an oak a few rods distant, straight as an 

 arrow right at my head, turning off and upward 

 at a sharp angle when within two or three feet 

 of me. I instinctively dodged several times, 

 she came so close. During- the last few feet of 

 her flight the wings were held perfectly steady, 

 not vibrating in the least until after she had 

 turned. The humming of her wings was like 

 that made by an immense beetle or a bumble- 

 bee, lacking the sharpness of that of small hum- 

 mingbirds. Now and then she alighted on the 



nest for a few moments. Incubation was well 

 advanced. One of the eg-gs was covered with 

 rusty spots which would not wash off, and ap- 

 pears in figure 4; the same thing was found in 

 an egg of the Broad-tailed Hummingbird. The 

 nest was saddled on the branch in a bunch of 

 moss which covered the tree, and was typical in 

 es-ery respect 



I observed the birds from an altitude of about 

 5,000 feet up to the summit, which is somewhat 

 over 9,000 feet. All the nests were found be- 

 tween 5,000 and 6,000 feet. Whether they nest 

 above this I am unable to say. The male may 

 often be seen near the top of some dead tree in 

 a rather open place, catching insects after the 

 manner of Flycatchers. He allows no trespass- 

 ing i:>n his territory by any bird whatsoever. 

 Not more than one individual was anywhere 

 seen at one time except at the suunnit, where 

 four or five were often chasing one another 

 through the pines. 



The eggs measur 

 2. 0.65 X 0.37 and 0.62 x 0.41; 3, 0.62 x 0.40 and 

 0.63 x 0.40; 4, 0.61 x 0.40 and 0. 62 x 0.41. 



NESTING OF THE ALASKA BALD EAGLE. 

 By George G. C.\nTwki.i„ Juneau, Alaska. 



ifseli ; 



WAS an early 

 breakfast 

 thai morn- 

 ing- of May 

 19th, at our 

 cabin on the 

 beach of 

 Howkan Is- 

 land, for we 

 were mak- 

 i n g haste 

 down the 

 channel to 

 catch the 

 outgoing 

 tide, and the 

 canoe was in 

 the current 

 as the sun 

 rose over the 

 m o un tains. 

 Stowing the 

 " m u c k a - 

 muck" box 

 and the dog 

 in the bow, 

 I u n r o 1 led 

 the blankets 

 and enjoyed 



the stern, now and then plying the 

 paddle to keep the course. Our destination was 

 among the islands that border the northwest of 

 Dixon's Entrance, whereon previous trips I had 

 located many nests of the Alaska Bald Eagle ; 

 several of which I had climbed in February, 

 March and April, when their nests were invari- 

 ably empty, althoueh the birds were always 

 about — great white-headed fellows that eyed me 

 sharply from the dead limbs above. 



The first stop was made at Eagle Island, .so 

 named from a large nest so conspicuous ixi its 



tallest tree. I had never climbed tliisand found 

 the only way of reaching the nest. 100 feet up, 

 was to climb a smaller tree near by and cross 

 on a projecting- limb. Alas for my efforts ! the 

 birds had not laid. 



Five miles further we stopped at another 

 island, but saw no birds about the nest. On 

 reaching the tree I found a dead eagle at the 

 bottom; some Indian had probably shot it from 

 his canoe. The nest was easily reached, but as 

 I e-Kpected — no eggs. This was discouraging. 

 A breeze had s])rung- up meantime, and with 

 hoisted sail good time was made in going behind 

 an island wliere I had never been before. Round- 

 ing a point I discovered a new nest in a small 

 spruce, and as the canoe sailed noislessly near I 

 noticed bits of down sticking to the edg-e of the 

 nest — "good sign," I thought; and at the clap 

 of the paddle on the water a white head and 

 yellow bill loomed un against the sky over the 

 nest. To tie the canoe and reach the tree took 

 but a moment. The more I pounded the tree the 

 closer she sat. I went up the tree without 

 climbers, the bird remaining on the ne.st until I 

 was within a few feet (jf it; then she flew rapidly 

 across the bay and I saw her no more. In the 

 nest were two splendid eggs, the first of the 

 kind I ever collected; quite round, very small 

 for the size of the bird, of a dirty bluish cast, 

 with many surface specks and scratches, but no 

 blotches or lines. Tlie nest was small, about 

 two feet across on top and three feet deep, com- 

 posed of dead bleached limbs, lined witli bark 

 and moss, and almost flat on top. 



Later on we found two more nests in im- 

 mense trees. As a shot from the Martin failed 

 to raise any birds I concluded not to climb them; 

 but in the afternoon I found another nest far up 

 a hillside in a tall, slanting tree — a very un- 

 usual location. As I could plainly see the bird 

 on the nest, I made haste to the spot with 



