146 THE NIDOLOGIST 
l.atitude Affects Nidification. 
Tis as yet not clearly understood why latitude 
| should have any material effect upon the num- 
ber of eggs laid to the set by certain species of 
our North American birds. Yet the fact has been 
presented to us time and again. One is apt to 
forget or lose sight of this unless an incident 
showing the correctness of this statement is 
brought within the scope of our own work. 
A case which I shall briefly outline is that of 
our common Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus excubito- 
vides), a species whose breeding range extends 
from Mexico, across our northern border and well 
into British America. In the north,sets of eggs of 
this bird are rarely if ever less than six, oftener 
seven, and not infrequently eight eggs are found 
in anest. My own experience with this species 
in Colorado, years ago, where a day’s travel along 
the scant growth of willow bordering the streams 
might reveal a dozen or more nests, was that the 
usual number was seven eggs, frequently six, and 
rarely eight. 
During the spring of the present year, while 
pursuing Ornithological work in the vicinity of 
Pheenix, Arizona, I frequently met with the 
Shrike; in fact, the desert scenes would be quite 
incomplete without several of them in sight. 
The first Shrike’s nest was discovered one morn- 
ing in March, after which I saw nothing of it 
until five eggs were deposited. As my series of 
this species was quite complete, I did not care to 
collect the eggs. Happening in the vicinity of 
the nest a week later, from mere curiosity I 
peered into it, only to find the set had not in- 
creased. Another nest which I had found some 
days previously was next made an object of ex- 
amination: it, too, contained a complete set of 
five eggs. Others were found, in which incuba- 
tion was well along, with but four eggs. 
In all, probably twenty Shrike’s nests were ex- 
amined. Half of these contained five eggs, the 
rest but four eggs to the set. None were seen 
with six eggs. By way of illustration I collected 
and prepared four of these small-sized sets to 
place along side of my series of sets of larger size 
taken in Colorado. The few sets taken of Gilded 
Flicker (Colaptes chrysoides) each contained but 
four eggs. : 
A well known naturalist, who has done much 
Ornithological work in Sinaloa, Mexico, tells me 
that it is not uncommon in that region to find the 
Red-shafted Flicker setting upon three eggs. 
From a scientific standpoint I am not prepared at 
present to say what is the direct cause of the 
decrease in size of sets with decrease in latitude. 
At Phoenix the food supply was abundant, and 
heat at that date was not excessive. This rule, be 
it understood, does uot apply to all species whose 
range is equal or not equal to that of the Shrike. 
For from a nest of the Western Red-tailed Hawk 
I took three eggs, and in two instances of the 
White-winged Dove I found more than the usual. 
number—each contained three eggs. 
G. F. BRENINGER. 
Santa Cruz, Cal., July 2, 1896. 
—+@~+ 
Raineism, 
AINEISM is a new word for an old trick,and 
R it could be spelled, I suppose, by omitting 
the awkward ‘‘e’’ in the middle of it, but 
then there would be a risk run in many quarters. 
as to exactly what the word meant; and I do not 
wish to incur that risk. It is proposed to dedicate 
this new word to any fraudulent practice that may 
be committed in any part of the world in avian 
Oology or other departments of science; and it 
derives its origin from one Walter Raine of 
Toronto, Canada, who is now probably the best 
expert in the field in such practices. 
It will be remembered by the readers of THE. 
NipoLocis? that not long ago this Mr. Walter 
Raine was concerned in a very unprincipled trans- 
action, wherein a large number of Grebes and 
Cormorants’ eggs were collected for him, and to 
make these look pretty and sell well they were all 
mixed up together and then sold in ‘‘sets,’’ either 
for Grebes’ eggs or for Cormorants’ eggs, as the 
demand required. But all this has been fully 
pointed out in a former issue of Tar NipoLocisT. 
Recently we have come across some very lively 
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