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20 THE CONDOR VoL. XII in 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 blotcht 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 (ff'u?b?a- g?us cyanocelShalus)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 californica) 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 seveeal 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 were uniform chocolate-brown with sometimes a blackish scrawl or so on them. The ground color, almost white in some, was usually green- ish-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 amoena), of which, I have taken