104 



THE OOLOGIST. 



and is the largest Red-tail's egg which 

 I have seen measmnng 2 60 by 1.97 

 inches. After coming down from the 

 tree we decided to go up on the side of 

 the hill and investigate some dark ob- 

 jects which looked like nests and while 

 H. was doing so I went down the maia 

 stream below where we had struck it 

 to see if there were more nests. After 

 walking about half an hour the same 

 nest came in view from which we had 

 taken the first set of four eggs in '93. 

 On throwing a stone into the tree the 

 bird flew out of the nest and lit in the 

 tree near by. Although I walked some 

 distance further down stream there 

 were no more nests to be seen. 



On returning to find H. he was no- 

 where to be seen and although I looked 

 around the base of the tree where I 

 thought to find him, could see no sign 

 showing where he had gone. So start- 

 ing over the hill whistling and calling 

 but seeing nothing of him was about to 

 return when I heard him call and go- 

 ing to the hill saw him coming to- 

 wards me, at first I wondered what it 

 was he had on which gave him such a 

 droll appearance, lookicg like the head 

 covering of a Bedoin of the desert, but 

 a closer view showed that it was a po- 

 tato sack, which by removing his hat 

 and then putting it on over the edge of 

 the sack it was held in place, shielding 

 his back from the rain. 



H. told me that the black objects on 

 the hillside were knots in the trees, 

 that he had found a new Hawk's nest 

 with the bird on it but on climbing up 

 discovered that no eggs had been de- 

 posited. He thought from the length 

 of time I had been gone that I had al- 

 ready returned and gone up stream, so 

 he did so himself until he came to a 

 house where partly drying himself by 

 the fire he secured his sack and left the 

 climbing irons which he had been car- 

 rying, not as a deposit for the sack 

 however. As it was he took a sand- 

 wich in his hand, another in his pocket, 



and went back getting the climbers,, 

 when we both went to the ne-=t I had 

 located. The bird flew off perching ia 

 a tree near by as usual. Although the 

 nest was near the end of the limb, H's. 

 clothes soaked through, and the tree 

 thoroughly wet and slippery, in thir- 

 teen minutes I was admiring the set of 

 three eggs on the ground. Two of 

 them are handsomely blotched with 

 brown on the small ends, while the 

 third is lightly marked with irregular 

 lines at the larger end. The nest was 

 lined with fiberous bark, green syca- 

 more leaves and a partly eaten mouse. 

 On unpacking the eggs at night I found 

 that one of this set was piped, and it 

 was only after drilling half inch holes 

 in all three that I succeeded in remov- 

 ing the embryos, if they could be so- 

 called. 



While on our way back up stream we 

 came to some cattle, when H. proposed 

 that we go up the bank and around so 

 as not to meet them, but not fancying 

 this additional labor I went through 

 the fence toward them. Not hearing- 

 H. behind me I turned around and saw 

 him watching to see what reception I 

 would meet, before venturing in. 



We kept on walking until coming ta 

 an overhanging rock, we crouched un- 

 der it where we were protected from 

 the rain and finished our lunch. Just 

 before reaching the nest from which 

 our last set of three eggs was taken in 

 '93 we were surprised to see that there 

 was not a trace of a nest. Having had 

 enough of black objects on the hillside 

 we did not stop to look after one near- 

 Iv two miles off, but started for the 

 station near by, H. discarding his sack 

 as it had become soaked through; we 

 looked badly enough without it and 

 had become as wet as possible. If the 

 persons who saw us walking through 

 the rain without protection thought us 

 escaped lunatics, I think they were en- 

 titled to do so. 



Results of the day as above: Four 



