24 



A Study of Their Eggs. 



While I have yet to harm one single feather of a Golden- 

 wing's body, 1 have taken from the little birds, their nest and 

 eggs. 



No excuse for committing these thefts is hereby tendered 

 bird students who, knowing so much about birds, can realize 

 in the laying of a bird's egg. only a mere fact in Nature; ex- 

 cept that this has been one of my ways of studying the birds 

 and their life histories for the past twenty years. During this 

 time I have found the robbing of birds for scientific study as 

 conscientiously elevating as maintaining on my premises, at 

 considerable expense, bird houses for the accommodation of 

 a large and interesting colony of Purple Martins. 



The first nest of eggs of the Golden-wing I collected, mark- 

 ed the beginning of a study of the life history of this bird, 

 which, although incomplete as it is. has been highly interest- 

 ing and instructive to me; and the last set added to my study 

 scries, contains the only truly oval egg of this species I have 

 ever seen. 



( )n the whole the eggs of the Golden-winged Warbler 

 closely resemble those of the Maryland Yellow-throat 

 (Geothlypis trichas), but by comparison and study of a num- 

 ber of sets of both species, the latter will be found to possess 

 a stronger creamy ground; as a rule is slightly heavier marked, 

 and with a redder tint of pigments, and in size average a trifle 

 larger. The smallest eggs of the Yellow-throat are the size of 

 the least specimens of Golden-wing, but there are no eggs of 

 the latter as large as some of the former species. 



Nearly one-half of the eggs of the Golden-wing I have 

 seen are typical ovate, with variations running from sharply 

 pointed to broad rounded ovate. Seventeen in my possession 

 are true elliptical ovate, and a few vary from this by being 



