2fi8 LIFE HISTOEIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



" Here they feed principally on ground squirrels and rabbits, and occa- 

 sionally on carrion. In tlie winter when other game is scarce they hunt 

 Wild Greese and Ducks, making a kind of 'swoop' when in chase, and should 

 their first attempt be unsuccessful, they will rise in the air and make a second 

 trial. My nests have all been found in the southern extremity of the Santa 

 Clara Valley, and were within 2, 4, and 6 miles of each other. There are 

 a number of other nests of this species in the moimtains near by, which I 

 have not been able to find, and in one locality there I have frequently 

 seen as many as six of these Eagles saihng about; possibly this may be a 

 bit of neutral ground, but their nests cannot be far away. 



"I have a set of Golden Eagles' eggs taken March 17, 1885, which are, 

 with the exception of a few dirt stains, pure white. They are unquestionably 

 identified. The previous year I obtained a very dark colored and well marked 

 set of eggs from the same nest and apparently the same bird. The eggs 

 vary greatly in markings. I have one egg that is as thickly covered with 

 light brown spots as that of a Marsh Wren (Gistothorus palustris). Scarcely 

 two sets are marked alike." 



On July 12, 1890, Mr. Steinbeck wrote me as follows : "A very inter- 

 esting fact which I noticed this season for the first time is that a few days 

 before nidification commences these birds will sit perched closely together on 

 a limb of some tree near the nest.' Of sixteen nests taken by me, twelve were 

 found on hillsides commanding an extensive view. Two were placed on the 

 sides of gulches at the bottom of deep ravines, and two out on the plains; 

 fifteen of these nests were in live oaks and one in a white oak. Tliese nests 

 were of all sizes, some being not much larger than those of the Western Red- 

 tailed Hawk {Buteo horeaUs calurus), others measured 5J feet in diameter, and 

 were large enough to fill a wagon. 



"I believe that in excessively wet seasons like the past one (18iJ0), 

 the majority of these birds do not nest. When disturbed in their nesting they 

 Avill likewise occasionally refrain from laying that season, although they 

 remain in the same neighborhood throughout the year. They are a very 

 suspicious bird, and it takes very little to disturb them." 



My friend Dr. James C. Merrill, U. S. Army, writes me : "A nest found 

 May 22, 1883, was placed on a ledge of rocks on Indian Creek, a small trib- 

 utary of Pryor's Creek, near its junction with the Yellowstone River, about 

 33 miles from Fort Custer, Montana. It was located about 15 feet from 

 the top and 25 feet from the bottom of the ledge, and had apparently been 

 occupied for several years. It was a large platform of branches and twigs, 

 a felted mass of cattle's hair forming the lining. The day before my visit it 

 contained two eggs, but these had just hatched when I was there. A dead 

 Sharp-tailed Grouse was lying in the nest. In the Big Horn Mountains, 

 Montana, a pair of these Eagles were seen repairing their nest April 10, 

 1883." 



' This is a peculiarity with many Raptores, and has been noticed by myself. 



