100 
General Notes, 
and I was not aware of its being a distinct variety for a considerable time. 
I cannot at present say certainly whether var. crinitus breeds here, but am 
inclined to think that it occurs only in the spring and autumn. 
A set of eggs, identified by the capture of one of the parents, was taken 
on the 10th of May, 1877. The nest was placed in the end of a broken 
branch of an anacahuite tree, about ten feet from the ground ; it was made 
of locks of wool and hairs, and contained five eggs slightly advanced. 
These measure .94 X .69. Besides this identified nest two others were 
found, but, thinking at the time that they were of true crinitus , I did not 
shoot the parents. Of these, one was taken, May 14, in an old excava- 
tion of Centurus aurifrons , and contained three fresh eggs. They are larger 
than those of the first set (1.01x0.70), the ground-color darker, and the 
markings heavier. The third nest was in a hollow stump less than two 
feet from the ground, and on June 4 contained six young. 
It is worthy of note that no snake-skins were used in the construction 
of these nests. — J. C. Merrill, M. D., Assistant Surgeon , U. S. A., 
Fort Brown, Texas. 
[I have carefully compared the two sets of the eggs of M. erythrocerus , 
here referred to, with sets of M. crinitus, M. cinerascens , M. cooperi, and 
M. stolidus. These all have a strong family resemblance, those of the 
erytlirocercus being distinguishable by larger size and much greater abun- 
dance of large confluent blotches of lilac and purplish brown. The eggs 
described in North American Birds (Yol. II, p. 339) as those of M. cine- 
rascens undoubtedly are really eggs of this species. — T. M. Brewer.] 
The Golden Eagle in the Hudson Highlands. — This splendid 
bird, which was formerly quite characteristic of this wild mountainous 
region, is now becoming quite scarce. It was formerly known to nest upon 
the cliffs on the west side of the Hudson, north of West Point ; and it is 
still a problem whether at least one pair do not still breed there. 
I have never been able to discover any nest, though I have carefully ex- 
amined each of the three principal ledges lying between West Point and 
Cornwall ; but these cliffs are so vast and inaccessible, that it is impossible 
to examine them satisfactorily from either top or bottom, even with the 
aid of a good glass. As I have seldom undertaken these fatiguing excur- 
sions during their breeding season, I have not ascertained the fact of their 
presence there at that season ; but in winter I have occasionally seen a 
single individual flying near the top of the mountains. 
Several years ago, a Golden Eagle was shot opposite those cliffs by a 
farmer at Cold Spring, while in the act of destroying a goose belonging to 
the farmer. 
A few days since, through the kindness of my friends, Professor Robert 
Donald and Mr. Sanford R. Knapp, of Peekskill, I examined a finely 
mounted specimen of this Eagle, in the possession of the latter gentleman. 
It was in the plumage of the young male (the basal two-thirds of the tail 
