COLLECTING BIliDS' EGGS AND NESTS. 



93 



The possibilities in collecting- and displaying nests in *itn 

 are almost endless. Indeed, so far as I have observed, this is a 

 new and very attractive field for the collector, for although I 

 have visited a great many large museums, and in both the New 

 and the Old World have seen many ornithological collections, I 

 have never yet seen a collection of birds' nests which repre- 

 sented a tithe of the possibilities in that direction. Every 

 oologist should have in his library a copy of Rev. J. G. Wood's 

 charming book, " Homes without Hands," which portrays 

 many of the wonders of bird architecture. 



In collecting nests one must go prepared to saw off branches, 

 to cut sections of grassy earth, to gather up big tufts of grass, 

 and transport all these to some safe destination. Very often it 

 will be necessary to protect a nest by filling its cavity with 

 some soft material, and then with fine thread or wire to wrap 

 it securely to the limb on which it is placed. Or again, it may 

 be necessary to remove a nest temporarily from its resting- 

 place, wrap it thoroughly, and transport it separately to the 

 museum, to be put in its place later on. 



Most naked nests, i.e., those that have been plucked from 

 their resting-place, require to be wrapped to keep them from 

 gradually falling to pieces. . This may be done with fine thread 

 of the same color as the outside 

 materials of the nest, or, what 

 Captain Bendire uses and rec- 

 ommends as being better, the 

 finest kind of wire which, in 

 large cities, can be bought, 

 neatly made up on spools, at 

 five to ten cents a spool. The 

 wire or thread is wound on 

 quite as one would wind thread 

 on a ball, except that the wire 

 must never be allowed to cross 

 the cavity of the nest, which 

 would at once make it conspic- 

 uous. Put oi) only enough winding to hold the nest well to- 

 gether, and distribute it so that the wire will not be noticed 

 when the nest is placed on exhibition. 



FIG. 22. Wire Standard for Nests. 



