10 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 12-No. 1 



dirty yollowish-wliite, covered iiiorc or less 

 tliickly ill the different speeiiuens witli blotches 

 of reddisli-l)rovvii." In size and appearance, 

 juiliiing from the above description, these were 

 very similar to some eg'^'S of Bnteu lineattis, and 

 they are open to the susiiicion of having be- 

 longed to that species, as Mr. Samuels does not 

 siiy how they were identified. The egg that is 

 figured in Samuels" book, (Plate I, figure 5,) as 

 belonging to Bnteu pennsylvanirHs^ only meas- 

 ures 1.8(!xl.51 inches. 



The nest found ))y Mr. Samuels is referred to 

 by Dr. (Joues (in his Birds of the NorthuH'sO and 

 the measurements given by Samuels are the 

 only ones mentioned by Dr. Coues. In his 

 /ley, however, Dr. Coues gives the measure- 

 meuts as "eggs ;{-."), 2.00x1.60, heavily marked.'" 



Dr. Wheaton (in his Eeport on the Birds of 

 Ohio) evidently followed Samuels" measure- 

 ments, for he states that "the complement of 

 eggs is four, and they vary in size from ■i.l.") 

 by 2.00 to 1.72 by 1.70."' 



Langille (in Our Jiirds in their Hniints) says 

 that the eggs are "three or four, some 2.10 

 X 1.(55." 



Davie : {An Eye/ Check List, first edition :) 

 "three or four; 2.09xl.(Jl."' In the second edi- 

 tion of his work he describes tliem as "grayish 

 or dirty white, more or less blotched with light 

 umber, reddish, yellowish and purplish-brown, 

 with a dull shade approaching l)lack; three to 

 five are laid, measuring from 2.00 to 2.1") long, 

 by 1.70 to 1.72 broad." 



Now having examined the authorities let us 

 see what results a series of ten sets before the 

 writer give: 



Set I. Blue Mountains, Northampton Countj', 

 Penn., May 18, 1SS5. Three eggs, fresh. No. 

 1: 1.7Gxl.r)0. Dull white, blotched all over 

 with faint lilac, and over these a few brown 

 specks. Almost as blunt at one end as 

 the other. A very petmliar egg for this 

 species. No. 2: 1.74x1.52. Dull white, faintly 

 marked with pale lilac, with a very few brown 

 specks. Almost equally rounded at both ends. 

 No. H: 1.88x150. Dull white, with hardly any 

 lilac markings. Has a few brown specks, but 

 they are more distinct than in the other eggs of 

 this set. This specimen is quite pointed for 

 Buteo pen nsylran ic us . 



Set II. Framingham, Mass., May 25, 1884. 

 Three eggs, fresh. No. 1: 1.95x1.52. Dirty 

 white, thickly blotched with pale lilac. Has 

 a few brown specks and one distinct blotch 

 of the same color. No. 2: 1.91x1.54. Dirty 

 white, thickly covered with small blotches of 

 faint lilac. Has one or two small brown spots. 



Quite pointed. No. .'5: 1.87x1.5;^. Yellowish- 

 white, thickly covered with very small, faint 

 yellowish-brown specks and spots. 



Set III. Pelican River, Becker County, Minn., 

 May 19, 188G. Three eggs, incubation begun. 

 No. 1 : 1.90x1.54. Light yellowish- white, beau- 

 tifully blotched diagonally across the whole 

 egg with spots of faint purplish-brown. At 

 the smaller end they are larger and thicker. 

 No. 2: 1.90x1.51. Light yellowish-white, 

 faintly marked with small and faint specks 

 of purplish-brown, closer together at the 

 smaller end of the egg. One or two blotches 

 of the same color. No. 3 : 1.95x1.52. White, 

 beautifully marked with spots and blotches of 

 bright i-edish-brown, tending to become larger 

 and more numerous at the smaller end. There 

 are no lilac markings on this egg. 



Set IV. Floyd Lake, Minn., May 20, 1886. 

 Three eggs, incubation begun. No. 1: 1.93x 

 1.54, Yellowish-white, very heavily marked 

 with spots and blotches of dark brownish- 

 red. In one or two places the markings are 

 so close that they almost obscure the ground 

 color. One blotch is mucli darker than the 

 others, and they are closer together near the 

 larger end. A remarkably handsome egg. 

 No. 2: 1.92x1.57. Yellowish-white, thickly 

 marked with lilac splashes and spots. Over 

 these are a few reddish-brown specks. No. 3: 

 1.90x1.55. White, ({uite heavily spotted and 

 speckled with faint lilac, becoming confluent 

 at the smaller end. Over these are a few 

 brown specks. 



Set V. Floyd Lake, Minn. May 24, 1886. 

 Three eggs, incubation far advanced. No. 1 : 

 1.95x1.51. Very pointed for this species. 

 White, heavily and most beautifully marked 

 with bright chestnut-brown blotches, heavi- 

 est near the smaller end, where they form an 

 indistinct circle. A beautiful egg, the hand- 

 somest in the series. No. 2 : 1.98x1.51. White, 

 very heavily marked at the smaller end with 

 bright chestnut-brown. On one side the spots 

 extend to the centre of the egg, but most of 

 the surface (except the smaller end) is un- 

 spotted. A strikingly handsome egg. No. 3 : 

 1.91x1.50. White, almost unmarked. Has a 

 few straggling line-like markings at the smaller 

 end. A great contrast to Nos. 1 and 2 in this 

 set. 



Set VI. Monroe County, Penn., June 6, 1885. 

 Two eggs, fresh. No. 1 : 1.91x1 .55. Dirty white, 

 heavily marked with dark reddish-browu spots 

 and blotches, thickest at the larger end. No. 

 2: 1.85x1.55. Dull white, thickly covered over 



