JAMES NE WTON BASKE TT. 9 1 



the Grackles "grade toward the Crows," as Dr. Coues has 

 it, you may form an idea of what first aroused me. Again, 

 within this same group is the Rusty Blackbird {Scolecophagus 

 caroUnus), with its sometimes scrawled, but often unscrawled 

 egg, and its young with the breast streaked — hinting at a 

 loose or at least a recent position. Here, too, is the Cowbird 

 {Molothrus ate/') and Bobolink {Dolichojiyx oryzivorus), each 

 with distinctly sparrow-like eggs — and sparrow-like charac- 

 teristics generally, for that matter. 



The eggs of the Cardinal {Cardinalis cardinalis) also 

 varied so extensively, resembling the eggs of some other 

 birds so strongly in both of their manifestations, that it oc- 

 curred that here too might be hinted a double kinship. 

 Certainly the coincidence mentioned by Dr. Coues of the 

 close resemblance of its egg to that of the Night-hawk 

 {Chordeiles virginianus) is purely a matter of chance ; but 

 the similarity of the other form to the eggs of the other 

 grosbeaked Fringillidce and the Tanagers {Tanagridce) is 

 more than correlated by resemblances in the birds them- 

 selves. I have noticed that the kinship of a series of groups 

 or genera is often thus indicated — if not always consecu- 

 tively, at least with noticeable outcroppings here and there. 

 It is generally admitted that a close affinity exists between 

 the Owls {Strigidce) and the old group of Picaricz, and the 

 resemblance of the eggs in color, texture, etc., running 

 through the Parrots, Cuckoos, Kingfishers, Swifts, and others, 

 is at least suggestive. The Owls are said to shade toward 

 the FicaricB through the Goatsuckers {Caprimidgidce), and 

 whether the white eggs of some of the latter typify the 

 vestiges of the kinship may be one of the questions under 

 suggestion. 



Few birds' eggs are more variable than those of the Hawks 

 — especially in the genus Btiteo. Coming out from among the 

 Herodiones by the way of the Secretary Bird {Serpentarius 

 secretarius),-^e. would naturally expect reversions in that direc- 

 tion. The grounds of Hawks' eggs are largely bluish or 



