44 TIIR CONDOR Vol. IX 



June 2, on my way home I found two more tlirashers' nests. Both had been 

 scenes of violence or disturbance and were deserted. One contained three eggs 

 partly incubated and then dried, while the other had three eggs simply rotten, with- 

 out any sign of inculcation. One nest was in a sage, the other in a grease-wood 

 and both about two feet from the ground. There was no clue to the cause of 

 either catastrophe. 



Of the seven new nests found, three had been disturbed and probably the 

 matrons of the last two were killed. I offer no solution as to what was the disturb- 

 ing element. I did not hear the birds sing at all and they seemed rather retiring in 

 disposition, tho not particularly wild. They left the nest quietly in thrasher- 

 fashion on the opposite side of the bush when I was a few feet distant. In no case 

 except when I caught one of the young that had left the nest did they show any 

 parental concern. In nesting as well as in migrating they seem to have a go-as-you- 

 please gait. During the three days observation I saw incomplete sets of fresh eggs, sets 

 partly incubated, deserted nests and eggs, and young birds grown and partly grown. 



Fort Lezvis, Colorado. 



AN EXPERIENCE WITH THE SOUTH AMERICAN CONDOR 



BY SAMUEL ADAMS 

 WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY MESSRS. ADAMS AND MARTIN 



ACOEEECTING party composed of Mr. H. T. Martin of the University of 

 Kansas and myself, then a recent graduate of that school, spent the latter 

 part of 1903 and the early half of 1904 in southern Argentina, the greater 

 part of the time in Patagonia. It has been known as far back as Darwin's time that 

 rich fossil beds exist in this country. The reading of the reports of three fossil-hunting 

 expeditions to Patagonia, made by the late J. B. Hatcher of Princeton, led us to 

 go to this field, where many rare and interesting specimens rewarded -the 

 party's efforts. 



The pampa, or great central plateau of Patagonia, extends from the foothills of 

 the Andes to the Atlantic coast where it ends by an almost perpendicular fall of 

 three to five hundred feet to the seashore. The waves and currents continually 

 undermine the cliffs and the waters wash away the fragments and debris where 

 they fall below. While prospecting for fossils in these barrancas, as the cliffs are 

 called, near the mouth of the Rio Gallegos (52 S. Eat.) condors were frequently 

 seen flying about the tops of the cliffs and over the plain. 



My previous interest in the South American condor {Sarcorhauiphns gryphiis^ 

 had been aroused by numerous descriptions which I had read of its marvelous 

 powers of flight, and my first thoughts on seeing the bird - in the freedom of its 

 native habitat were to verify the statements of early observers. Time and again I 

 found myself prone on my back intent on this feathered giant as he wheeled and 

 turned in majestic circles and curves without the slightest apparent effort until he 

 disappeared on the horizon or I tired of watching him. 



As our camp was moved from time to time to facilitate our work we had a 

 good opportunity to examine the barrancas thoroly and at last encamped near a 

 point about which a pair of condors were seen almost daily, our attention being 



