THE NIDIOLOGIST 



151 



EGGS OF GOLDEN EAGLE AND DESERT SPARROW HAWK. 



Worth While. 



PART of the following article is to inti- 

 mate to Oulogists that it pays sometimes 

 to examine apparently empty nests. 



On March 19, 1894, I left my home near 

 Salinas, Cal., on foot, intending to examine 

 two nests of the Red-bellied Hawk {B. lineatus 

 elegans) in Toro canyon, seven miles distant. 

 After zigzaging about and finding two nests of 

 the Red-tail {B. bo7'ealis calurus) empty, I 

 came to a third of same species, which seemed 

 to be empty, as no birds could be seen any- 

 where. It was fifty-seven feet up in a large 

 sycamore, and by the time I reached the nest 

 the parents were near by. A very good set of 

 three was taken, the eggs being splashed with 

 dull yellow. 



I had taken a set of three almost immaculate 

 eggs of this species from this nest on April 8, 

 1893, but never thought that it would be re- 

 occupied so soon. 



iVnother nest of the Red-tail proved empty, 

 and I then came to the first nest of the Red- 

 bellied Hawk. It was empty, save some grain 

 that had taken root. The next nest was within 

 a stone's throw of the last nest, and was what 

 my brother and I, on May 7, 1893, took to be 

 an old one, and empty, though it appeared 

 rather large for a Hawk to build. 



Curiosity now got the better of me. The 

 tree was a large sycamore, and the nest was 

 forty-five feet up. I ascended and thought I 

 heard a wing flap as I climbed, but did not 

 look up. 



Three eggs larger than I had expected to see 

 met my gaze, for they were Golden Eagle's ! 

 The nest was made of large oak sticks and 

 small twigs mixed, and lined with oak moss. 



green leaves, and fine stubble. It measured 

 3I feet across the top, which was flat, and 22 

 inches thick. The cavity was 12 inches across 

 and 3 inches deep. A squirrel's tail was in the 

 bottom of it, while its dried remains were on 

 the edge of die nest. Small fluffy feathers were 

 sticking on the ends of some of the twigs. 

 Having seen no parents I decided to wait for 

 them, though the eggs needed no " bird seen " 

 identification. Leaving them I descended and 

 hid in some bushes on a hillside not far away, 

 and ate my lunch meanwhile. Soon a large 

 bird came wheeling down in big circles from 

 the oak-covered hill opposite, nearing the nest 

 at every whirl. It was the parent, but fearing 

 that she would alight on the nest in a hurry 

 and injure the eggs I made my appearance and 

 frightened her away, after ^^hich I hid again. 



She appeared again with another Eagle, its 

 mate probably, and they remained in the 

 vicinity of the nest for some time. They finally 

 flew back of the hill, only to reappear Avith a 

 third. As time was pressing I secured the eggs 

 with the aid of a rope. 



With my instruments the eggs measured 

 2.22x2.84, 2.24x2.84, and 2.26x2.28 inches, 

 being smaller than the usual eggs of this Eagle. 

 They were of a dull-white ground color, one 

 heavily marked with rich reddish-brown, and 

 another being so finely specked with reddish 

 and lilac as to appear creamy. 



The accompanying half-tone pictures this set 

 with one of the Desert Sparrow Hawk. Both 

 were taken in Toro canyon and not far apart. 



In conclusion I will say that the Golden 

 Eagle is common in the Salinas valley, being 

 frequently seen singly and in pairs. I have 

 twice noted three birds together, presumably 

 the parents with a young of the year. Return- 



