The Northern Black Swift 
BLACK CLOUD SWIFTS 
That the turn of the tide came when the task of Science, in this 
country at least, was nearly ended, is no doubt more than a coincidence. 
The game has flagged because there are so few new fields to conquer. 
The quest of the unknown in American birds’ eggs is nearly over; for with 
the exception of certain forms casual or rare along our southern border, 
and one of the Rosy Finches, there are no more full-fledged species of 
American birds, believed to breed within the limits of the United States, 
whose nests and eggs have not been discovered. 
What this means for science and for romance the layman may 
never fully understand. But it means at least that the quest has been 
very keen of late, and that a bona fide discovery of some long-sought 
species has marked the discoverer a prince among oologists. When, 
therefore, an unknown collector, A. G. Vrooman, of Santa Cruz, an¬ 
nounced in 1901, through the columns of “The Auk,” that he had found 
the egg of the Black Cloud Swift (.Nephcecetes niger borealis ), the oological 
world came to instant attention. But when we read further that the 
bird laid only one egg, and that on the bare, damp earth of a sea-cliff, 
interest turned to amazement, and incredulity to open scorn. Anything 
