:May, 1914 
A SADLY NEGLKCTED MATTE;r 
117 
SQCli types are extremely rare, and offer in themselves a large field of research 
in studying the laws of variation and heredity. 
Another deterrent factor in the noting of colors is that many collectors 
distrust their ability in this regard. They assume that a trained eye, a knowl- 
edge of the various tints, and the names of all the pigments are necessary. 
This is not the case ; all that is needed is the ability to distinguish the ordinary 
colors. These can be qualified by the simplest of prefixes, — “dark”, “light”, 
“dull”, “bright”, or “intense”, — or modified by a terminal such as “bluish” 
to indicate something akin to blue. The description should be as concise and 
brief as possible ; too elaborate details are apt to tangle one ujj. Also it is 
hardly necessary to define the color of the eyes of all such small birds that 
have the ordinary brown iris, nor to record the black bill and feet of most of 
the Corvidae, for example. It is the divergence from the ordinary type that is 
noteworthy. 
Some few collectors make elaborate records of the colors of soft parts in 
their note books, leaving the label of the particular specimen they make the 
record from, blank in this respect ; this is a method greatly to be condemned ; 
one might almost as well record the sex in this manner, as one never knows the 
ultimate destination of the specimen in future years — or centui’ies. 
Make all records on the label itself ; probably the most convenient Avay is 
to record the colors of soft parts on the reverse side of the label to that which 
carries the name, sex, locality, and date. Without these data the specimen is 
incomiDlete, a monument during the whole period of its existence to the lack of 
thoroughness of its collector, no matter how perfect it may otherwise be. 
Okanagan Landing, British Columhia, March 4, 1914. 
NESTING OP THE KITTLITZ MURRELET 
By JOHN E. THAYER 
R ecently I had the good fortune to ol)tain from Captain P. E. Klein- 
schmidt, eggs of the Kittlitz Murrelet {Brachgraniphiis brevirostris) , 
together with some interesting information regarding the ])reeding 
habits of the bird. I think, although I am not sure, that these are the first 
authentic eggs of this species. I have heard only of the Avhite eggs, the same 
as the one already in my collection, which evidently are not of the Kittlitz 
Murrelet. 
The egg found on the ground, on the side of Pavloff Mountain, June 10, 
1913, has a ground color of olive-lake, dotted all over with different sized 
markings of dark and light broAvn. It measures, in inches, 2.29x1.40. The 
other egg, taken from the oviduct of a bird May 29, 1913, is perfectly formed, 
and Avas evidently about to be laid. Its ground color is yelloAV glaucous, Avith 
dark broAvn spots over the Avhole egg. The measurements are, 2.46x1.45. The 
second egg taken from a bird’s oviduct Avas so broken that it could not be 
measured, but color and markings are the same as in the one last described. I 
have both the females from Avhich these eggs Avere taken. 
Pavloff Bay and Pavloff Volcano, Alaska, Avhere Captain Kleinschmidt’s 
notes and specimens were taken, is near the Avest end, and on the south side, 
of the Alaska Peninsula, a little northAvest of the Shumagin Islands. 
This is what Captain Kleinschmidt says : 
