20 
THE CONDOR 
Von. XII 
ill a sense a part of the bird’s anatomy, and that, if any such separate classification 
is to be made that birds and eggs should come together rather than eggs and nests. 
As further proof I feel quite sure if some bird, a thrush for instance, of one section 
produced invariably plain bluish-white eggs and that of another section produced 
invariably entirely different eggs, say green heavily bloteht with brown, I doubt 
not that the two birds would soon be separated even if no apparent difference could 
be found in the birds themselves. However, it is not my opinion that any such 
separation of the study of eggs, birds or nests is necessary, as the gathering of all 
facts in the study of them in my idea, is scientific and is ornithology. Nature has 
drawn no clear cut lines that I can see, and I consider it as important to note that 
the Cliff Swallow constructs its nest of mud as that a hundred specimens of the 
bird show some slight variation in wing measurement. 
A prominent ornithologist some time ago informed me that he did not consider 
the geographical variation of species as important as most have deemed it, and 
that all Song Sparrows in his collection were simply labeled such, accompanied with 
the usual data. Personally I do not endorse this method, believing all differences 
discernible should be recognized. I also believe variation in eggs, or any other 
scientific fact concerning them, important as well, for to me all appear to be but 
links in a great chain. It seems to be the desire of some, however, to disconnect 
these “links”, claiming that the so-called scientific ornithology is the more impor- 
tant, as it is a component part of the science of life. To me it would seem that 
equally as much of the science of life can be learned by a close study of the birds’ 
habits, their eggs and nests, as by the study of their structure and their classification. 
The second point is: Have eggs been scientifically studied or described? 
I maintain that truly scientific descriptions of eggs, treating of their texture, 
size, shape and coloration is a part of ornithology that has been neglected and offers 
material for a monumental work. Take the eggs of the Brewer Blackbird ( Eupha - 
gas cyanocep /talus ) for instance. I wish to ask any collector familiar with a 
series, if there are not many specimens that one unfamiliar with the species 
would have difficulty in identifying if he depended solely on the written descriptions 
of a writer like Davie for instance, who states that the eggs are markt “with 
dark brown * * * and some with a lighter shade.” Could anything 
be more indefinite? Why, this season, which I spent at Lake Tahoe, I examined 
perhaps as many as a hundred nests of this bird, mostly with eggs, and I can say 
instead of Davie’s two shades of brown, there are nearer twenty! In fact with the 
exception of the California Murre ( Uria troile calif ornica) I know of no Californian 
eggs subject to wider variation in color. The markings run thru various shades of 
brown, from light grayish, yellowish and reddish, to a blackish-brown that is almost 
if not quite black. On some the light purplish-gray markings, which are usually 
sparse and obscure, predominate and form another type. I noted several sets unmarkt 
except for scrawls and blotches of blackish-brown and purplish-gray around the 
larger end; being not greatly unlike some specimens of the Redwing Blackbird I 
have seen. Others again w 7 ere uniform chocolate-brown with sometimes a blackish 
scrawl or so on them. The ground color, almost white in some, was usually green- 
isli-white, tho sometimes a pure light green. In shape they varied from almost 
globular to elongate-ovate. 
In further connection with egg variation might it not be possible that closer 
study will reveal that food, environment, and other conditions affect eggs and their 
coloration? Perhaps somewhat more worthy of notice, because more unusual, are 
the occasional distinct types among the eggs of common birds, as, for instance the 
spotted eggs of the Lazuli Bunting {Passerina amoenal) , of which, I have taken 
