i68 
THE CONDOR 
VoL. VI 
ional. I am quite able to agree with him, for in the large series that I have re- 
ferred to I have found onl}^ twent3r-two eggs that measured 3.10 or more in length, 
and of those, fifteen exceeded 3. 15, four of these going he3mnd 3.20 inches. From 
these data the mammoth proportions of m3' eggs 11133' perhapsbe better appreciated. 
The3' measure 3.47 In’ 2.62, and 3.37 by 2.64 indies. Plain figures, while doubt- 
less plain facts, are less readily digested than a more tangible object les.son, so I have 
included in a photograph for comparison, a large egg of a western red-tailed hawk, 
measuring 2.52 by 2,00, an average golden eagle’s egg measuring 2.97 b3’ 2.23, and 
the larger of my large set measuring 3.47 by 2.62. P'roni the photograph and 
measurements, it will be seen that the large eagle’s egg is as much larger than tlie 
average as that is larger tliaii a red-tail’s egg. 
In coloration, as appears in the photograph, the larger egg is the more lightly 
marked. The markings appear more as ingrained shell markings of faint laveiKk-r 
and umber, giving the egg the appearance of having a ver3’ dirt3' white ground 
color. There are a few superficial spots and small splashes of a darker shade. 
The smaller egg is ver3’ handsome, the markings being of a much brighter tint, 
making the round appear brighter and clearer by contrast. As shown in the 
photograph, the markings are heavier at the small end. At the large end the 
markings are all nearly confluent but very faint in shade, and have more the ap- 
pearance of shell markings. The intermediate blotches and splashes are very 
bright. In both eggs the shell is very smooth, with few granulations. Incubation 
had just commenced and was equal in both eggs. 
One naturally wonders wh3' there should be so much difference between these 
eggs and others taken from the same nests and presumably the product of the 
same birds. A set of two taken from a “series of five” nests occupied 113’ this pair 
of birds, are about average eggs, measuring 2.97 by 2.23 and 2.93 b3' 2.24 inches. 
The larger is the central egg in the photograph. The markings are strong^' de- 
fined blotches and spots of a dark reddish brown and almost wholl3' at the larger 
end, no lavendershade appearing any where. The other egg is absolutely unmarked. 
The “Spook” Canyon bird was unusuall3’ dark seeming almost black, and very 
large — in fact the largest and blackest eagle I ever saw, and in perfect i)lumage. 
I had a good view of her when she left the nest for I was not five feet from her. 
Then after I had left the nest and was on the ground below not more than fifty 
feet away she did what no eagle of my acciuaintance ever did before, came back to 
the nest and settled down on it again with head up watching me and making a 
curious clucking, like the common call of the Cooper hawk, which she repeated 
a dozen times. 
Escondido, California. 
An Ornithological Comparison of the Pajaro Valley in California with Sioux County 
in Nebraska 
JiV J. s. IIU.NTKR 
D uring the summer of 1903 I was located in the Pajaro valley in Santa 
Cruz county, and it was with great interest that I compared ornithological 
conditions therejwith^those in Sioux county in northwe.st Nebraska. 
Sioux county is bordered on the north by South Dakota and on the west by 
