Great Nebraska

Naturalists and Scientists

NOU, Elsie Littell, Letter, 1913, July 26

Mrs. Elsie Littell County
Superintendent
Office Day, Saturday

Wayne County Public Schools

Wayne, Neb. July 26, 1913.

Mr. Myron H.Swenk
Lincoln, Neb.

Dear sir: If you are too busy to answer this letter ,I shall understand, if you chuck it into the waste basket without answering it.
While in Yellowstone Park this summer ,I had an opportunity to study a Bald Eagles nest and I am at a loss to understand just what I saw there. There were three young birds in the nest, two young eaglets as they should be with the white stripe down the back and tail; but the third young bird was different. It was smaller with no white stripe, just a skin-gray like the young robin beforeit gets any feathers. When the male bird brought in food the mother fed all three altho it seemed to me that she did not intend to, for the odd one had to scramble about and crowd quite a bit to get his “mouth-ful.”
Now ,I am trying to decide whether the odd one was a later hatch or a bird of some other kind.Perhaps you would be kind enough to give me your opinion. If you have the time to do so ,I shall greatly appreciate it.
Respectfully yours,
Elsie Littell