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THE CONDOR 
VOL. VI 
I have looked carefully to find nests before and after these dates but have failed. Thus i would 
define their breeding time as the month of June, as most of my sets were found during that month 
and the majorit}- during the first three weeks. During the six years of 1113’ observing this species 
I have collected fort3'-four sets of which eleven had two eggs each and thirtv'-three three eggs. 
The greater part of the sets of two were found at the end of the season, indicating a second set 
although I have been unable to prove this. peculiarit}' was noticed in 1901, as the eight sets I 
collected all contained three eggs each. In all the above cases where onh' two eggs were col- 
lected the ne.sts were alwa3's left long enough to complete the set; thus I am positive that the sets 
of two were complete. vSeveral plover's nests were found before the eggs had been deposited 
and the nests carefulh' watched. The eggs are laid about three da3's apart. 
The nesting ground is a white sand}- cape or narrow strij) of land between Ballona Swamp 
and the ocean about two miles long and two hundred \ards wide. This place during the fall 
high tides is completely Hooded and deposits of small rocks and broken shells are left there. 
Among these the plovers place their nests. On approaching it one ma}' be attracted noticing 
the little fellows running about on the sand in front of him, or occasionallv flying in low wide 
circles uttering a pleading whistle so characteristic of this species. This whistle I have learned 
is a danger signal that I am near their nests, and on looking over the ground careful!}' I may be 
able to notice fine bird tracks in the white sand or in the patches of white sand between the shells 
and rocks. 
In going over the ground carefully where the tracks are the thickest a nest will generally be 
found. Sometimes the birds wdll build among the small rocks where the tracks cannot be seen 
and here the eggs are .safe as their coloration protects them, for they look exactly like small 
rocks. The nests are, as a rule, found by a mark of some kind, a bone of some animal, a small 
dead weed, or a bit of drift-wood and are slight depressions in the sand. vSome are completelv 
lined with broken shells or fish bones with the eggs pointed towards the center, very close to- 
gether and about half buried in the nest lining. A pair of birds will build several nests during a 
season and only use one; for I have found nests all fi.xed up and completely surrounded with 
tracks. This I noticed especially in 1901 for I found about three times as many unused nests as 
used ones. During this season I visited Ballona about three times a week and gave the birds 
careful study. — W. Le;e Ch.\mi!Krs, S\j>/hj Monica, California. 
NOTES AND NEWS 
On November 8, the following amendment to Article IX of the Constitution of California is 
to be voted upon by the people. “Section 12. All property now or hereafter belonging to the 
‘California Academy of Sciences,' an institution for the advancement of science and maintenance of 
a free museum, and chiefly endowed by the late Janies hick, and incorporated under the laws of 
the State of California, January sixteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, having its build- 
ings located in the city and county of San Francisco, shall be exempt from taxation. The trus- 
tees of said institution must annually report their proceedings and financial accounts to the gov- 
ernor. The legislature may modify, .suspend, and revive at will the exemption from taxation 
herein given.” 
The California Academy of Sciences is a museum similar in scope to the United States 
National Museum in Washington and the .American Museum in New York City; it maintains 
collections for popular instruction, which are open six days of the week and are free to the 
public; it maintains scientific collections and a scientific library, which are free to students; it 
publishes scientific papers without pecuniary profit; it sends out expeditions in search of new 
facts and new specimens; it gives free public lectures every month in the year; its staff an.swers 
inquiries relating to scientific matters, free of charge. The property of the academy consists 
chiefly of a building, fronting on Market .Street, San Francisco, rented for stores and offices, and 
a building back of this front building used for the library and the collections of animals, plants, 
and minerals. The income from the front building supports the back building; without this in- 
come the work of the .\cademy could not be carried on. The Academy pays over jfyooo a year in 
taxes; of this amount less than one-third goes to the state at large, the re.st to the city and countv 
of San Francisco. This tax impoverishes the Academy, the balance of its income being insuf- 
ficient to do its work. Similar institutions in other states, such as the .Academy of Natural 
.Sciences of Philadelphia and the Boston Society of Natural History are exempt from taxation, 
'the attention of all Cooper Club members, who may reside in California, is called to the 
amendment. Everyone who is interested in the advancement of science in California should do 
his or her little toward influencing a favarable vote. It is suggested that those who receive ]>rinted 
