The Condor/Volume 1/Number 3/Peculiar Eggs of California Shrike and Other Notes

1058794The Condor, Volume 1, Number 3 — Peculiar Eggs of California Shrike and Other Notes
By Milton S. Ray
1899

Peculiar Eggs of California Shrike and Other Notes. In the San Joaquin Valley about twenty-eight miles southeast of Stockton, on May 23, 1898, I found two nests of the California Shrike in a grove of locusts near the road, both containing eggs partly incubated. One egg in the set of four is pure white, with a faint greenish tint, marked at the larger end with a black scrawl, and over the surface are a few obscure specks of light brown. The other three are typical specimens although one is lightly marked. The set (?) of two also contains an almost unmarked specimen.

On June 15, 1897 near Soquel, Santa Cruz Co., Cal. I took a nest of the Western Wood Pewee containing three fresh eggs. On examining the nest after reaching camp I was surprised to find two more eggs beneath the lining, in which the contents were partly dried. They differ much in size and color from the other eggs and do not seem to have been laid by the same individuals.Milton S. Ray, San Francisco, Cal.