THE OOLOGIST 



129 



Nest of Golden Eagle in in Sycamore tree, Escondido, Calif. 



—Photo bv C. F. Schwack. 



•egg as the Ipa-ger, ami very greatly in 

 heaviness and coloration. Some eggs 

 haven't a spot on them. Others are 

 so heavily marked as to almost hide 

 the ground color. 



Measurements of thirty-two eggs 

 yield the following: Average size, 

 2.96 X 2.25 inches. Smallest egg, 2.42 

 X 1.96 inches. Largest egg 3.26 x 2.58 

 inches. Showing a great variation in 

 size. 



I have visited three nests of this 

 bird with young, and the old birds 

 were very shy even then; in two in- 

 stances keeping out of sight and in 

 the other flying around about a fourth 

 of a mile away, apparently uncon- 

 cerned. The first nest was visited 

 April 3d and contained one young 

 bird and four freshly killed jack rab- 

 bits. The youngster could not yet 

 hold his head up, but squeaked so lus- 

 tily as to be heard twenty-five feet 

 away. The second nest was visited 



April 11th and contained then two 

 birds just commencing to grow their 

 wing feathers, and were very savage 

 even then; and apparently heavy 

 eaters from the number of iDones ly- 

 ing around. These birds left the nest 

 the first week in May. The third 

 nest contained two young a few days 

 old on the 2Sth of March, also nine 

 ground squirrels freshly killed. I 

 should judge the period of incubation 

 to be about twenty-eight days. A 

 pair of these birds will lay a second 

 set in twenty-eight days if molested. 

 Incubation commences with the laying 

 of the first egg. ' 



Their food consists of squirrels, 

 rabbits, — the three kinds — jack, cotton 

 tail and brush rabbit, ducks, young 

 pigs and I have been told by reliable 

 parties, that a pair will sometimes 

 kill newly born calves; but I think 

 this seldom happens. But for their 

 killing young pigs, they are very ben- 

 eficial and will no doubt remain in 

 this section of the country a great 

 many years as they are just as com- 

 mon here now as they were ten years 

 ago. J. B. Dixon, 



Escondido, Cal. 



