42 THE NIDOLOGIST 
On the Eggs of the California 
Vulture. 
N exchange says of the California Vul- 
iN ture, that “the skin and eggs are of 
extraordinirus devideration and value 
to Ornithologists and Odlogists.”’ 
I am not privy to the meaning expressed in 
the sentence quoted, but the writer is in error 
when he says, that “ Los Angeles boasts of the 
possession of two out of the three known eggs 
contained in all North American collections, 
public or private.” The present writer has paid 
particular attention to gathering authentic in- 
formation concerning this rare and rapidly de- 
creasing species, and is ina better position than 
anyone to know how many eggs there are extant. 
It will be a matter of news and of great in- 
terest to Ornithologists to know that there are 
nine eggs in collections, all in sets of one each. 
The existence of five of these rare eggs has not 
been previously made known to the public, and 
I feel that, while violating no confidence, I am 
doing Odlogists a service in publishing for the 
first time this bit of information. This count 
includes no “hypothetical list,” but 1s of eggs 
whose authenticity is clearly proven. 
One of the nine specimens was in the Phila- 
delphia Academy of Sciences and vanished a 
number of years ago, nobody knows where, al- 
though it is thought to be in some one’s safe 
keeping. The United States National Museum 
has a specimen, blown with two holes in one side, 
taken in early years. Mr. G. Frean Morcom, 
of Los Angeles, Cal., has two eggs, one being a 
perfect specimen which was collected this year 
for Mr. A. M. Shields, and afterward sold to Mr. 
Morcom at a good price. The other egg in 
Mr. Morcom’s possession was bought by him 
recently from the writer, the consideration 
being $100. This egg is the one taken in 1889, 
a full account of which appeared in THE Nip- 
oLocist for January and February (1895). 
The specimen had been unfortunately broken 
into three pieces, but was very neatly mended. 
It had been blown through: a large, rough hole 
in the larger end. ‘This disfigurement was al- 
most entirely concealed by building up with 
plaster of Paris from the interior on a support 
of cotton. 
Two eggs, one blown through rather small 
holes in the ends, and the other through two 
holes in one side, were taken in 1879, and are 
In the possession of a gentleman in California, 
who sets a very high valuation on them. It is 
his intention to hold the eggs for a big price, or 
later present them to some museum. The re- 
maining three eggs which make up the nine are 
perfect specimens. Four eggs were taken in 
California the past season. 
The present writer has no eggs of this Vul- 
ture, nor any interest in any, but expresses it as 
his conviction that none of these nine eggs are 
likely to be “ put on the market; ” at least any 
time soon. 
When interest in Odlogy in this country shall 
be very much more intense and widespread than 
it ever has been, including many men of liberal 
means among its votaries, the egg of the Cali- 
fornia Vulture, or Condor—which will then be 
extinct—will command a high price; but at the 
present day there is a very limited demand in 
America for such expensive luxuries. Even 
the big museums are some of them rather 
pinched for money (at least in comparison to 
the popular idea) and would hesitate before 
purchasing such an expensive eggshell. There 
are many more men of means in England who 
cultivate Odlogy, and the eggs of the Great 
Auk, which belonged to the list of British birds, 
consequently come high. An egg was recently 
sold in London, however, for only $700. 
I have not been backward in saying that the 
egg of the California Vulture is a great rarity, 
which will some day bring a big price, and this 
I still believe, but those who expect to make a 
small fortune hunting for Condor’s eggs will be 
sadly disappointed. i am informed that the 
cost of the expedition sent out by Mr. Shields 
was $188. H. R. Tavtor. 
Nesting of the Duck Hawk in 
Trees. 
HE late Colonel N. S. Goss, of ‘Topeka, 
Kan., was the first to discover and record 
the previously unknown and _ possibly 
unsuspected fact that the Duck Hawk (/a/co 
peregrinus anatum) sometimes breeds in cavi- 
ties of large trees. In the “ Bulletin of the 
Nuttall Ornithological Club,” Vol. III, pages 
32-34 (January, 1878), Colonel Goss gives an 
interesting account of his discovering four nests 
of this species thus situated during the years 
1875, 1876, and 1877 in the timber along the 
Neosho River, near Neosho Falls, Kansas. In 
May, 1878, I found three nests of the Duck 
Hawk in large sycamore trees in the bottom 
lands of the Wabash River, near Mt. Carmel, 
Ill., my experience thus closely coinciding with 
that of Colonel Goss, except that none of those 
found by me were accessible on account of the 
great size of the trees in which they were placed. 
The accompanying illustration is from a 
sketch made by my brother, John L. Ridgway, 
of one of the three Duck Hawk trees found by 
me before it was felled (I was not the fortunate 
possessor of a camera at that time), and repre- 
sents very faithfully the proportions of the tree 
