Dec. 1888.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



185 



away. The lu-st was in a crotch, exactly 

 thirty-eight feet from the jri-oiiuil. Tlie eggs 

 measure 1.94 sl.G-2, 1.88 x 1. 02, and 1.89x1.63 

 inches; and in markings, Mr. Jaclvson's des- 

 cription of the set of three taken by himself in 

 1887 might almost describe this set also, egg for 

 egg. The female bird measures thirty-five 

 inches in extent and fifteen inches in length. 



Nesting of the Pigeon Hawk. 



11V II. H. TAVI.OK. 



A Series of Eggs of Swainson's. 

 AA^arbler. 



As the eggs of the Pigeon Hawk {Falco 

 columbarius) are very seldom found I wish to 

 record the taking of a splendid .set on April Gth, 

 1888. 



I first saw the nest late in May, one year ago, 

 when it contained three young birds ready to 

 fly. It was on a steep mountain-side on the 

 large stock rancli of my friend J. P. Sargent, 

 in Santa Clara Co. Cal., on a ledge of a pre- 

 cipitous bluft' about thirty-five feet high. 



While near the nest last year the old bird 

 was astonishingly fearless and would swoop 

 down close to my head, uttering ear-piercing 

 cries. These angry demonstrations, while they 

 made me somewhat apprehensive of damaged 

 eyes, afforded an excellent opportunitj' for 

 jotting down a description of the falcon. 



When I visited the nest this season the bird 

 flew olf as I came up, and winged its peculiar 

 flight across the canyon, when it settled quiet- 

 ly on the hill-side. 



My friend R. C. Sargent ailjusted the end of a 

 rawliide lariat to my body and as soon as the 

 rope had been passed round a small shrub, 

 which grew above, I swung over the edge, and 

 was slowly lowered toward the nest. 



As the uest was rather in from the face of 

 the clifl" I found it dillicult to get a foot-hold, 

 but when I did at last, I saw that it was com- 

 posed simply of pieces of friable rock, and in it 

 to my delighted surprise were five eggs. I soon 

 had them stowed away and was speedily and 

 safely lowered to the bottom. 



Audubon, it will be remembered, found 

 several nests of this bird in Labrador, each 

 with five eggs. The nests were on the top 

 branches of low fir trees and only from ten to 

 twelve feet from the ground. 



The eggs of this set proved to have large 

 embryos, but with patience I succeeded in 

 blowing them. They are heavily marked with 

 a light brown, so heavily that in one or two the 

 ground color is entirely obscured. 



On June 5 and 6, 1885, Mr. Arthur T. Wayne 

 found the first two nests of Swainson's Warbler 

 {Hdonoea sirainsoui) of which we have any 

 record. They were both taken near Charb^ston, 

 South Carolina, and were then considered to be 

 very rare eggs. Since then, however, a great 

 many nests have been found, and it would be 

 safe to estimate their number at over one hun- 

 dred. All of them have been found by three 

 collectors, Mr. Arthur T. Wayne in the vicinity 

 of Charleston, S. C, and Messrs. T. D. Perry 

 and George Noble, near Savannah, Georgia. In 

 view of the great success that these gentlemen 

 have had, it is odd that no one ever found the 

 eggs of this bird before IsSo, when Mr. Wayne 

 first discovered them. 



The eggs are always three or four in number, 

 and more commonly the former than the latter. 

 They are white, with a faint bluish tint, that is 

 only perceptible when they are compared with 

 a pure white. In this connection it may not be 

 improper to remark that Mr. IMdgway is in 

 error when he states in his Mmuial of North 

 American Birds, p. 48.5, that the eggs of this 

 species are " 1-3, .7.5 x .58, white, usually plain, 

 but sometimes speckled or spotted with lilac or 

 pale brown." Less than three eggs would be 

 an incomplete set for this species, and they are 

 almost always unmarked. It is true that Mr. 

 William Brewster has three eggs that have 

 faint markings, but they are the only ones that 

 I have heard of out of upwards of twentj' or 

 more sets. 



The}' vary greatly in size and shape, as the 

 following descri|)tion of nine sets now before me 

 will illustrate : 



Set I. May 30, 1887. Chatham County, 

 Georgia. Collected by George Noble. Bird 

 seen. Nest placed in bunch of canes four feet 

 from the ground. Three eggs: .70 x ..55 ; .70 x 

 .55; .72X.56. 



Set II. May 24, 1888. Chatliam County, 

 Georgia. Collected by T. D. Perry. Bird on 

 nest. Nest of leaves in compact layers, lined 

 with fine dry moss. In myrtle bush, two and 

 a half feet from the ground. Three eggs: .74 

 x55; .73X.55; .69 x .54. 



Set III. July 4, 1888. Berkeley County, 

 South Carolina. Collected by Arthur T. 

 Wayne. Nest in canes, four feet from ground, 

 in large dense swamp. Made of dry leaves and 

 cane leaves, lined with pine needles and a little 



