The Condor/Volume 1/Number 2/Notes on Audubon's Warbler and the Individuality of Eggs

Notes on Audubon's Warbler and the Individuality of Eggs. In order to satisfy my curiosity, I shot a male Audubon's Warbler on Jan. 17 and placed the contents of its stomach under a microscope. I found that it contained, with the exception of a small black beetle, and a worm about one-half inch long, nothing but bits of grass. These warblers are abundant every year during the winter in this locality. They spend most of their time on the ground, feeding on grass in the orchards.

In further proof of the individuality of eggs, I have sets of eggs in my collection from two pairs of California Shrikes. Both pair nest within one-half mile of my home and I have taken eggs from each for the past five years. The eggs of pair No. 1 are smaller and rounder than the average specimens, and are very lightly marked. I have two sets in my collection from this bird. In No. 2 the eggs are all heavily marked. I have four sets of eggs from this bird and were it not for the set mark, an egg taken from one set and placed with the other sets from the same bird could not be distinguished. Wm. L. Atkinson, Santa Clara, Cal.