Page:Condor2(3).djvu/12

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60 THE CONDOR [ Vol. II General News Notes. TWO I?[ORE EGGS OF CAI.IFORNIA CONDOR. The various collectors of Mr. H. R. Taylor have, up to March 2oth, been very successful in their field work. Be- sides thirteen sets of Golden Eagle and four sets of five eggs of the Prairie Fal- cou, they were fortunate enough to col- lect an almost perfectly fresh egg of California Condor on March t 9 in Mon- terey Co. The nesting place was be- trayed by the parent bird flying from the nest in the face of a cliff 5oo feet high, the pot-hole in which the egg was laid beiug 35 feet from the bottom and the egg was secured by loxvering the collector with a rope. The size of the hole was about sixteen inches at its en- trance, opening or broadening inwardly to a chamber six feet long, 2? feet wide and two feet high. The egg was laid on the bare sand and is ashy green in color, deeply pitted all over and, like some other specimens that have passed through Mr. Taylor's hands, has several xvarty excrescences on the surface somewhat larger than a pin head in size. The texture is close grained, and the egg glossy, measuring 4.44x2.66 inches. It is noticeable that these eggs lose their greenish cast within a few years after having been collected and this accounts for apparently conflicting statements in published articles on the species. From the dozen or more au- thentic examples now in collections it is reasonably sure that the egg of the California Condor varies in two es- sential particulars from those of other members of the American Uatharl[da'. First, they are always unspotted; sec- ondly, one egg constitutes a full set. L^TF?R. Since the above was written Mr. Taylor's field men have come in from another two weeks' trip in which they were successful in taking their second condor's egg of the season on March 26 from a pot-hole in the face of a sandstone bluff in San I,uis Obispo Co., Cal. The egg measures 4.38x2.63 . It is strong textured with a heavily glossed shell surface and the same wart-like protuberances mentioned in the first egg. Mr. Taylor's collectors also added a series of Prairie Falcons, all sets of five eggs each, one more set of Golden Eagle ?, a heavily reddish set of Duck Hawk and minor sets of hawks and owls. All these sets, in- cluding both condors' eggs, have been acquired by Miss Jean Bell of Pennsyl- vania. A BRIGHT, typically Western maga- zine is TtwLandofSunshine published at I,os Angeles, Cal., and edited by Mr. Chas. F. Lummis. It ranks pertlaps as the leading monthly of the West in many respects, aboundling in choice stories of fiction and romance, essays on California's natural beauties and won- ders, and an array of able editorial comment, all combined xvith a journal- istic dexterity that savors of originality. Its substantial features are supple- mented with a profusion of half-tones of rare subjects, which make the 6o to 7 page journal a veritable treat. The February number contains a notable character sketch of the late Dr. Coues, with recent photographs, by Mr. I,um- mis. The February and March issues are graced with entertaining essays on California wild flowers in midwinter, with photographs, by Mr. Chas. Amadon Moody, while the April num- ber contains some remarkable photo- graphs of living wild birds by Elizabeth and Joseph Grinnell, together with ap- propriate text. Many features of 77?e Land qf Sunshine appeal directly to the natnre lover, and its mauy praise- worthy elemeuts all go to round out a distinctly bright journal. I, os Angeles, Cal., $x a year. q'n? appearance of tile ?roceedin,?s oj the JVebraska Ornitho/ogisls' brings to prominent notice the associa- tion of Nebraska ornithologists which will be known as the Nebraska Oruith-