78 



THE OSPREY. 



John Turner, about four miles north from 

 Kockford. On this occasion they were follow- 

 ing the team with which Mr. Turner was har- 

 rowiny, and were pickinf,^ up seeds of weeds and 

 fi'rain. as well as the insects which were brought 

 to view. 



The next instance I recall of their occurence 

 in this portion of Iowa, was two individuals ob- 

 served by me a mile and a half northwest from 

 Charles City on the 2Sth of May, 1885. They 

 were picking up grain which had been scattered 

 along the road. — Clement L. Webster, C/mr/rs 

 Ci/y. la. 



Pet Califoknia Condor. — Mr. Emerson and 

 myself lately drove from San Jose to visit Mr. 

 F. H. Holmes at the base of the Berryessa foot- 

 hills, in the midst of the peach and prune dis- 

 trict. Here we saw his aviary of Ixaplorcs, con- 

 taining two Western Redtails, a Bald Eagle, a 

 Golden Eagle, a pet California Vulture: a Duck 



PET CALII-OHNIA l.'ONDi'l{. 



Hawk formerly in tliis tldck had been killed by 

 some of its companions. The Hawks and Ea- 

 gles appeared a little wild at Mr. Holmes en- 

 trance into the large cage, where they had room 

 for short flight: but the Vulture was as tame as 

 a pet dog, and hopped up tn us with outstretched, 

 drooping wing-s, as if seeking- to play or be ca- 

 ressed, showing no anxiety or dislike whatever 

 at being handled or lifted. It is still a young 

 bird, not having attained the bald head: its 

 head and neck are covered with a sli.glit growth 

 of short, curly, downy feathers, that reminds 

 one of the hair of a picaninny. It is supposed 

 that this bird has to shuffle a good deal, perhaps 



on a down grade, before it can rise on wing; 

 but from the actions of this individual that took 

 one hop to a perch 3 feet off the g-round with the 

 utmost apparent ease, I see no reason to believe 

 that a bird of so much expanse of wing- should 

 have the least difficulty in taking- wing- from the 

 ground. Mr. Holmes has photographs of his 

 pet in various positions, thus obtaining a truth- 

 ful model for mounting specimens. While we 

 watched the Condor it never fcjlded its wings, 

 but held them outstretched with the primary 

 feathers touching the ground, the wings form- 

 ing almost a semicircle. — DONAI.D A. COHEN, 

 A/aiiicda, Cal. 



Nesting oe the White-necked Raven in 

 Giant CacTu.s— At El Plomo, Sonora, the 

 White-necked Raven seems to prefer this cactus 

 to me-squite or paloverde for a nesting site. 

 During the winter flocks may be seen where 

 there is anything for them to eat. About the 

 middle of January it is noticed that 

 when the flock settles on the ground 

 some are in pairs, which, in the later 

 part of the Tuonth, may be seen stand- 

 ing on the ground all the day long; 

 when the female walks off a few feet 

 the male follows. This they keep up all 

 day, never uttering a sound unless 

 some luie disturbs them, when the 

 male utters ;i hoarse "kwank", the fe- 

 male flies, and the male follows. They 

 begin building about April 1, often 

 using the old nest again. It consists of 

 ,^^^ thorny sticks and twigs, lined with cattle 



>~"^ hair, rabbit fur, or anything soft that 



|A may be easilj' obtained. When they are 



Hk finishing a nest the female goes after 



W the lining', bringing it in small bunches 



f in her bill, and drops it in the nest. 



The male follows her closely, thoug-h 

 he does not seem to carry any of the lin- 

 ing', but keeps up his hoanse "kwank." 

 After the female has loose hair enough 

 in the nest she arranges it for the lin- 

 ing. The nests resemble those of a 

 Crow, but are a trifle larg-er. One of 

 them contained 5 eggs, April 18, 1898; 

 incubation about four days advanced; 

 they measured: 1.89 x 1.2.S, 1.95 x 1.23, 

 1.96 X 1.25, 1.97 X 1.27, and 2.00 x 1.26. 

 Ground color bluish-green with the 

 characteristic longitudinal markings of 

 greenish-brown, lavender-gray, drab 

 and lilac. There are two sets of mark- 

 ing-s light and dark. The shell has 

 somewhat of a gloss. — J. H. Ci.ark. 



On the Nesting of Ducks. — One of my notes 

 on this interesting subject refers to a colony of 

 American Scaups which I found on a small 

 island in Marsjovia Ba^-, near the end of the 

 Alaska Peninsula. The island contains about 

 four acres, one-half of which is about SO feet 

 above sea level; but on both the east and west 

 ends there is quite an area only a few feet above 

 water. These gravel points are covered for the 

 most part with a species of salt weed less than 

 one foot in height, common to the sea shore of 

 that country. Among these weeds on the west 

 end there is a colony of about SO pairs of Scaups 



