Jan., 1910 FOSSIL BIRDS FROM QUATERNARY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 
15 
less birds. The characters of the sternum and the humerus suggest those of the 
sailing fliers. 
Those California bird students who have seen the Condor towering above the 
Turkey Buzzards groupt about a carcass probably have a good mental picture of the 
way this great bird must have appeared among the Condors gathered about the 
vulture feast at the asphalt beds during Quaternary time. 
ABNORMAL BIRDS’ EGGS 
By A. M. INGERSOLL 
WITH FOUR PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR 
O OLOGICAL abnormalities are occasionally found by all collectors; but few, 
probably, have had the experience of examining a set of eggs showing such 
gradual variation in size^as is illustrated in figure 7, accompanying this 
article. The seven eggs measure in inches, 1.06X.81, 1.04X.76, .96X.76, .93X.73, 
.84X.69, .82X.68, .81X.65. Each egg appeared to contain the usual proportionate 
amount of yolk. This Red-shafted Flicker, being inexperienced in nest building 
or too lazy to excavate a proper home, took possession of a'large decayed-out hollow 
in an immense cottonwood tree. The entrance to this natural cavity was large 
jFig. 7. SET OF SEVEN EGGS OF THE RED-SHAFTED FLICKER, COLLECTED AT RAMONA, 
CALIFORNIA, APRIL 25, 1888 
enough to admit my head. This set of freaks were followed by eggs of normal 
size in the same nest. 
Runts are commonly infertile. The yolk is generally present but sometimes 
much reduced in quantity and occasionally entirely lacking. Barring out species 
laying but a single egg to a set, I can only recall three instances in which a runt 
was positively the first egg deposited. It seems reasonable to believe such 
runts as are laid at the commencement of a set to be eggs of young birds, and 
those that are laid at completion of a set to be the final product of old birds on 
the verge of barrenness or enfeebled by excessive laying. I have never known of a 
set with runts, or such deformities as lopsided eggs, granulated shell texture, 
wrinkled or warty shell, to be followed by others containing similar abnormalities. 
This would seem to indicate that such malformations are not caused by a perma- 
nent individual peculiarity of the parent bird, as apparently is the case when cer- 
tain individuals habitually lay eggs departing from normal in coloration, size or 
