134 



THE OOLOGIST. 



prominent features. On the wing it is 

 light and graceful, and in these evolu- 

 tion, the white spots on the wings, visi- 

 ble only when the wings are spread, are 

 : are very noticeable. At times it clash- 

 •es, in an irregular course, high into the 

 •air in pursuit of some insect ;or pretend- 

 ing to enter upon a protracted flight, it 

 mounts to a considerable elevation 

 where in fluttering along in the ether- 

 : al blue it forms a pretty sight, but sud- 

 denly its course is checked and with a 

 few downward sweeps and extravagant 

 flutters it disappears in the foilage of a 

 distant tree. 



During the few hours we spent in 

 this delightful place we secured four 

 : sets, two of two eggs and two of three 

 eggs each; several other nests were 

 found but either on account of the in- 

 accessibility of the nests or the advan- 

 ced stage of incubation, no eggs were 

 obtained. The nests were located 

 either in crotches or on horizontal 

 limbs at an elevation varying from 

 eight to twenty feet. The first nest 

 was found in a willow; the others were 

 placed in oaks. 



The nest of the Phainopepla is a curi- 

 ous structure composed of soft, light- 

 colored vegetable fibres into which are 

 woven a few grasses and stems. It is 

 flat — the depression being very slight 

 and measures about four inches in di- 

 ameter. 



The eggs ase oddities. The ground 

 color is creamy white or grayish, speck- 

 led over the entire surface with dark 

 brown and blackish. The coloration 

 varies sometimes. In a set collected by 

 the writer, was an egg on which the 

 spots were congregated about the lar- 

 ger end, while in the same set the other 

 egg (the set numbering two) was heav- 

 ily spotted all over and had a long 

 black clash down the side. The com- 

 plement of eggs is two or three; their 

 average dimensions are about 90.x. 69. 

 In conclusion, I may say that the 

 Phainopepla is one of the most interest- 



ing birds that has passed under my ob- 

 servation. Its attractive appearance, 

 eccentric habits and odd nests and eggs 

 render it, to me at least, a most inter- 

 esting bird. 



H. C. LlLLIE, 



Ann Arbor, Mich. 



After Golden Eagles. 



On the 29th of February last my 

 friend F.A. Schneider and myself start- 

 ted out in quest of Golden Eagles or 

 rather their eggs. Equipped with a 

 good pair of climbers, and a strong 

 suit of old clothes, we started on our 

 ride of ten miles into the mountains. 

 We had gone about six miles and were 

 passing a large live oak tree when my 

 friend cried out: — "Hold on there ! wait 

 a minute." 



I pulled up and he jumped out and 

 pi'oceeded to climb the oak. I didn't 

 know what he was after, but as he is 

 not in the habit of climbing trees for 

 nothing, I waited expectantly and in a 

 few minutes I was pleased and surpris- 

 ed to see him descend bearing the 

 dainty nest and eggs of an Anna's 

 Hummingbird. He had seen the bird 

 fly from the tree and rightly supposed 

 a nest to be there. We continued on 

 into the mountains and were soon 

 scouring their sides. 



^4fter walking but a few miles we 

 discovered our first eagle's nest situated 

 near the top of an immense pine about 

 seventy-five feet high. The tree was 

 situated near the top of a moutain so 

 that the nest overlooked a rocky gulch. 

 Deciding that the nest contained eggs 

 I strapped on my climbers and com- 

 menced the ascent while my friend sat 

 down comfortable at the foot of the 

 tree and gave advice. The first limbs 

 were about forty feet up and they were 

 rotten but I was aided much in climb- 

 ing by a slight incline of the tree tow- 

 ard the canon billow. 

 As I reached a point about half way 



