126 Bird- Lore 



Soon you meet complaints from well meaning persons who object 

 to robbing birds' nests, and you reply that you are collecting for 

 scientific purposes. Very good ; science has need of you all, but 

 do you know what scientific ornithology — real ornithology — is? 



Are you not influenced, to some extent, at least, by " oological " 

 niagaziuL-s and dealers' price-lists of eggs, from which you learn that 

 it is important to secure series of sets, — which means hundreds and 

 thousands of eggs, — and wherein you also learn the market price of 

 this or that egg, and value your specimens accordingly, — just as you 

 do your postage stamps? This is not science, and the men who advo- 

 cate this sort of collecting, and who have the largest collections of 

 eggs, rarely contribute anything to our knowledge of birds, and are 

 not advancing the science of ornithology. 



If you must have a collection, a few sets of eggs (often a single 

 set) of each species of bird will answer all your purposes. There is 

 nothing to be gained by the collecting of a series, except the extermi- 

 nation of the birds, which is surely not your object. 



On the other hand, there is a vast amount of bird work that you 

 can do to help the science of ornithology and gain a reputation for 

 yourself. 



There are hundreds of facts regarding the distribution of birds, 

 their habits, etc., which are still unknown, and you should make it 

 your aim to become an authority on the birds of your region, and 

 keep records of all your observations as to migration, habits, abun- 

 dance, etc. You will find ample opportunity for work, as every year 

 will bring to light new facts, and the more you contribute to our 

 knowledge of the birds the more you will see what an insignificant 

 matter the formation of an egg collection is in comparison with real 

 ornithology. 



In the case of birds, it is justifiable to shoot specimens which 

 are new to you for purposes of identification, but you should make 

 the best use of the bird before you kill it, so that it will not be 

 necessary to shoot more of the same kind in order to tell what they 

 are. Your aim should be to learn to recognize birds at sight and 

 by their notes, and you will find you will learn more of value by a 

 study of the living bird than by collecting skins. 



The exact knowledge that we now possess of the coloration, etc., 

 of North American birds, and the large collections available for study 

 in the museums, render it entirely unnecessary for every bird student 

 to form a collection. Those who undertake any special line of study 

 will soon learn what specimens are required and collect accordingly, 

 instead of amassing a large number of specimens with no particular 

 object in view. 



