180 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XVI 
Xo. 19. Collected by Paul Thorasiinsson, on the 15th of June, 1905, at 
hake My Vatn, North Iceland (set c 1-2), measures, according to my measure- 
ments, 2.60x1.80. 
Nos. 18 and 19 are both very dark eggs, while no. 17 is lighter. In the 
case of no. 19 most of the spots are very fine, even minute, with only a few 
larger ones. In no. 18 they are larger and blacker, those at the greater end be- 
ing, in fact, great blotches and mostly confluent. 
In the egg belonging to the same clutch Avith no. 18, there is a blotch near 
the butt Avhich measures 20 millimeters by 10 millimeters, or nearly the size of 
one’s thumb-nail. One still nearer the butt is nearly as large; but such mark- 
ings in the eggs of loons are exceptional, and in any case appear to be formed 
by several smaller blotches, overlaid by someAvhat thinner and very slightly 
lighter ones. 
Loons’ eggs are very different from any of those of the Alcidae or auks; 
indeed, in the case of some of the latter, the eggs are pure AA’hite, and present 
no markings of any kind Avhatever. Moreover, some of the puffins and other 
species lay but a single egg, although other auks lay tAvo, and, as Ave knoAA-, so 
do the humming-birds. 
These facts are alluded to simply to illustrate the point that the nnmher 
of eggs laid by a bird of one Avell-defined group, selected as a single character- 
istic, is by no means a safe one to go by in taxonomy, in the matter of array- 
ing that l)ird, or family of birds, Avith another group, simply for the reason 
that some of the latter assemblage may chance to do the same thing. 
Still, in avian classification, the characters presented on the part of eggs 
ahvays mean something, and such data is often of use in this connection ; but 
it should never be employed as a single factor more than to be additional evi- 
dence, AAuth respect to affinities, AA’hen associated AA'ith Avliat is presented on the 
part of structure, habits and distribution. 
As yet Ave have not the knoAvledge Avhich Avill admit of correctly stating 
Avhy it is that all loons lay tAvo dark-colored, spotted eggs ; but there is a reason 
for their so doing. And Avere Ave able to trace the matter back far enough into 
the past, that reason could be brought to light. For instance, could Ave but 
know AA’hat kind of an egg Hesperornis and its descendants laid, it Avould great- 
ly help out. 
Washington, D. C., October ig, igig. 
FROM FIELD AND STUDY 
A Plea for More Lasting Field Notes. — What happens finally to all the ornitholog- 
ical field notes that are made? A few of them are left to state and local institutions 
and societies, some to close personal friends of the deceased, and hy far the greater 
majority I imagine, are put away with odds and ends in an old trunk until a house- 
cleaning by some member of the next generation puts them in the ash barrel. Again, 
hoAV many of these notes are put and kept in concise, connected and decipherable form 
so that they may some day be of use to others? 
From what I have myself seen I feel safe in venturing the statement that a good 
percentage of the average men who are interested in birds, other than those connected 
with some museum or other institution, Avil! find that their old notes are scattered 
through notebooks of different sizes, and some of them, at least, stored with other 
old papers where they may be forgotten and at best hard to get at. 
Notes that are worth taking at all are worth keeping in orderly condition and 
