172 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 13-:n'o. 11 



and September. Au^hey records two speei- 

 nieus as examined iu June, 1S75. 



(277) A. melodia circnmcineta Kidgw. Belted 

 Piping Plover. Common in Nebraska and 

 breeds here (Aughey). The A. O. U. Check 

 List gives this bird for " Missouri river region," 

 but we have failed to observe it. 



(2S1) ^4. montana (Towns). Mountain 

 Plover. Keported as abundant in western Ne- 

 braska. No record of the bird in the eastern 

 part of the stale. Arrives in May and Sep- 

 teinbei', and frequently remains and breeds. 



Nesting of the Golden Eagle. 



liV llAKltV It. TAYLOU, ALAMEDA, CAL. 



]u the latter p.irt of February 18S8. I repaired 

 to Sargents Station, .Santa Claia County. Cal. 

 to spend some pleasant weeks of recreation. 

 In a wild, billy r<'gion where the live-oak grows 

 abundantly and not a mile from San Benito 

 county, was my headquarters, and with a good 

 saddle-horse at my disposal and the Gabilan 

 Mountains looming up in the distance I thought 

 my chances for securing eagle's eggs and other 

 rarities were excellent. 



On February 28th I saddled my sure-footed 

 black horse and galloped otl' over the hills in 

 search of '■chicken-hawk's" nests or any other 

 kind which might be available. The special 

 object of my ride, however, was to try and tind 

 the nest of a Gcjlden Eagle {A'lnila chrnsaftu.i 

 canadensis) which 1 had observed last May in a 

 certain locality in the hills. Two or three days 

 before I had seen this noble bird on the bald 

 top of a little mountain, or big hill, where it 

 remained for over an hour walking about and 

 occasionally disappearing behind the mountain's 

 crest. 



On this hill-side, somewhat lower down, was 

 a patch of live-oaks where I thought the eagle 

 might have its nest. So toward this steep 

 place I traveled, with as much haste as the 

 nature of the country would permit. Without 

 finding any hawk's nests on the way, though 

 once fooled into climbing after an old battered 

 Magpie's nest, I and my steed reached the 

 place of the oak trees. Contrary to luy expec- 

 tations I failed to lind the nest here, and was 

 about to mount my horse and climb to the top 

 of the mountain for a view when I heard a 

 sound of rushing air like the terrible appi-oach 

 of some death-dealing cyclone, and immediately 

 the king of American birds, or it might have 

 been the queen for aught I know, swooped 



down the mountain side in pursuit of some 

 species of falcon. The big eagle and its smaller 

 playmate sported in the air for a moment, not 

 thirty feet over my head, and then went oft' in 

 different directions. Unfortunately I watched 

 the falcon instead of the eagle and before long 

 I could not see either of them. 



Anyway I knew the direction the eagle had 

 taken and I concluded to look carefully in all 

 the trees down in the (Canyon, but first gave 

 myself the pleasure of a view from the summit 

 of Bald Top. I bunted without success for the 

 great bird's eyrie in every large tree in the 

 gulch below. Disappointed again, I still kept 

 up the search. Much farther off I saw some 

 trees which looked big enough to hold the nest 

 and these I determined to examine. 



1 had about looked into all the trees when I 

 saw a big nest on a high limb of a large tree 

 and my heart's beating was almost audible so 

 excited was I, and on the side of the nest w as a 

 white feather 1 That settled the question 

 certainly, for me, and a sight of the head of a 

 Golden Eagle peering enquiringly over the edge 

 the next moment removed the last doubt I 

 might have had. 1 then frightened the bird 

 from the nest and it flew off a short distance, 

 circled a little and was lost to sight over a hill. 



The tree, a live-oak was not a hard one to 

 climb, under the circumstances, and I lost no 

 time in getting to the nest. It cont.ained but 

 one egg, nearly pure white, so I scianililed 

 down again, verj' much elated indeed after 

 seeing my first eagle's egg in a nest. Feeling 

 by this time that the hour had arrived when 

 nature's demands must receive attention I 

 struck off for home and dinner, to return an- 

 other day for the full set of eggs. On the way 

 back I passed the eagle which was making a 

 bee-line for the nest. 



On the first of March, three days later, I filled 

 my fish-basket with cotton and started ofi' after 

 this set of eggs. As 1 neared the nest 1 observ- 

 ed an eagle sailing majestically far above me, 

 like some great air-ship bound for an unknown 

 port. Coming up to the nest, it seemed unoc- 

 cupied, so I began the ascent of the tree forth- 

 with. When within six feet of the great mass 

 of sticks I was surprised to see the eagle fly oft'. 

 As 1 gazed into the nest my eyes were pleased 

 by the sight of two splendid eggs and the last 

 one the bird had laid seemed to me surjjassingly 

 be.iutiful. The first egg laid was almost pure 

 whiti', or a bluish white, having a very small 

 splash of brown on the large end. The other 

 egg was not quite so long and heavily marked 

 on a white ground with spots and blotches of 



