ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 14-No. 1 



ready to leave the nest. Perhaps a second set, 

 or an uncommon case of late breeding. I took 

 this bird home and kept it until December of 

 that year, keeping it in a hen-coop; but I was 

 called upon so often to extricate small boys' 

 hands from the grasp of its sharp claws that I 

 got tired of the domesticating process, espec- 

 ially as small boys' fathers had vowed ven- 

 geance on both my pet and myself. However, 

 the taming process was not a success; instead, 

 my bird got more savage every day upon its fare 

 of Dusky and Sage Grouse. Its appetite was 

 amazing, and considering I had one Red-tail, 

 three Great-horned, and four Long-eared Owls 

 to feed, it kept me pretty busy to supply the 

 demand for fresh meat. I kept both the 

 hawks in one coop, and they got on remarka^ 

 bly well in their own respective corners, but 

 there was trouble when either one wandered 

 too near the other's retreat. Feathers would 

 then fly, but the wanderer always took the 

 quickest route back, and quiet would reign 

 again. In the fall gi-asshoppers form the prin- 

 cipal diet of this species, although gophers and 

 small birds also are fed upon. Eggs, one to 

 five; soiled bluish-white, speckled, spotted, 

 blotched or splashed with dark reddish brown. 



113. Archihuteo la(/i>pHH .sdnrfi-jofninui.s 

 (Gmel.). Reported by Drew and Antlumy as a 

 winter visitant, and by Brenninger as a resi- 

 dent. This is no doubt a mistake, and further 

 notes from Brenninger would be acceptable. 

 However, it might be found as a resident in 

 mountainous districts. It is supposed to breed 

 north of the United States. I have seen it in 

 late summer in Wyoming, but this is no evi- 

 dence of its breeding. Nest of sticks, twigs, 

 etc., in high trees or on ledges of almost in- 

 accessible cliffs. Eggs, three, of dull white to 

 creamy, sometimes plain, but when marked 

 are blotched with several shades of brown, 

 with now and then nearly obsolete spots or 

 blotches of purplish. 



114. Archihuteo ferrucjineufi (Licht.). Ferru- 

 gineus Rough-leg. Reported by Brenninger as 

 " i-esident" ; common. Habits somewhat simi- 

 lar to the preceding, but moie a bird of the 

 plains, preferring the ledges of the deep 

 "wash-outs" to the high cliffs of the moun- 

 tains. Nesting similar, but the eggs pass 

 through even more variation of coloring than 

 the preceding. Eggs, three, sometimes four, 

 and seldom two. 



11.0. Aqu'ila chrysaetos (Linn.). Golden 

 Eagle. Resident. It seems to be rare in some 

 portions, but from the number of quotations 

 and my own experience, I .should judge it tol- 



erably common, as it surely is on the western 

 slope of the mountains. I have taken four 

 sets of its eggs in different localities in the I^a 

 Plata mountains. This species may build its 

 nests in trees in California, but not in the 

 region of the Rocky Mountains. In Colorado 

 it chooses ledges and niches of tlic rugged and 

 perpendicular cliffs, and the taking of its eggs 

 is a very dangerous undertaking, and in many 

 cases nearly impossible. The same nest is 

 used year after year. I know of one nest that 

 has been used ten consecutive years. The old 

 nest is added to, in such cases, until it often 

 assumes enormous proportions, nearly filling 

 tlie large niches in the lime-stone cliffs and 

 towering high in air when placed on ledges. 

 The eggs are no longer a rarity, a large num- 

 ber of the eggs now in collections coming from 

 California. Found on the plains in winter, 

 though a few breed on the ledges of the 

 largest "wash-outs" of the prairie in bot'i 

 Colorado and Nebraska. 



Tlie nest spoken of above as having been 

 occupied ten years is in Clear Creek Canyon, 

 Wyoming, near F(')rt McKinney. The taking 

 of two young from this nest nearly cost me my 

 life in '84. I could not reach the nest from 

 the bottom of the cliff, so took a detail of five 

 soldiers mounted on good horses, with plenty 

 of rope and a windlass. By making a detour 

 of a few miles south of tlie canyon, I reached 

 the top of the cliff', and spent the afternoon in 

 shipping my windlass ready for use the follow- 

 ing morning. Winding up my rope to the end, 

 I built what a sailor calls a "bos'ns brig," 

 that is, a triangular affair of boards, upon 

 which I sat and lashedS a small bucket for the 

 eggs; my gun I slung over my shoulder. At 

 suiuise I sent one man round to the bottom of 

 the cliff with my horse, and when he reached 

 there I was ready to be lowered to the nest. I 

 had rope enough to reach to the bottom, and 

 instead of being drawn back to the top (as it 

 would be impossible to make a land,) I cal- 

 culated to be lowered to the bottom. I 

 reached tlie nest safely and, instead of eggs, 

 fovmd two very fierce-looking young, who re- 

 sented my intrusion upon their domain in a 

 very ugly manner. The old birds also caused 

 me quite an amount of anxiety, as they came 

 into by far too close quarters. I finally shot 

 tlie female or rather winged her and, falling U* 

 the ground below% made things very lively for 

 my comijanion awaiting me there. 



I finally succeeded in dislodging the young 

 and sent them to the ground and, giving the 

 signal to "lower away," I was soon on my way 



