THE OOLOGIST 



Tfte ©bro^ist 



FOURTH PUBLICATION YEAR. 



MARCH, 1878. 



E^UKATUM. — 28th line, 2vA column, 94th 

 page of our February issue, for climing read 

 climhing. 



Our Cover. — We are proud of our cov- 

 er. The design, we have reason to believe, 

 is an excellent one, and contains at least 

 fewer inconsistencies than our old heading ; 

 yet, we have no donbt some critic will seek, 

 and that all our readers anticipate, an ex- 

 planation of the picture and the objects rep- 

 resented therein. It was our aim to incul- 

 cate in the reader an admiration for nature, 

 and to present a pleasing and acceptable il- 

 lustration of the field into which our study 

 leads us. In the foreground, across the 

 lower corner of the cover, appear three eggs 

 strung upon a straw ; our sense of the prin- 

 ciples taught in our own journal obliges us 

 to relieve ourselves at once, from any possi- 

 ble imputation concernin2; the barbarous 

 treatment of our specimens, that may have 

 already formed itself in the mind of the 

 reader, by stating that their interesting po- 

 sition and arrangement do not pretend, in 

 any degree, to be an illustrative principle 

 in modern scientific usage, but they impress 

 us as a pleasing set-oft" to the more serious 

 surroundings. A pair of Hawks have chos- 

 en a delightful position for their nest in the 

 tree near the shore of the lake, and through 

 the forbearance of youthful naturalists have 

 been permitted to rear their young unmo- 



lested ; the motherly Duck has nested ear- 

 ly this season, and is leading its little fam- 

 ily of ducklings into the reeds ; the Egret 

 and Sandpipers are the indispensable ad- 

 juncts to pleasure upon the water, and Ave 

 think the latter are contemplating the pros- 

 pects of nest-building ; the Ruflfed Grouse 

 in the shadow of the thick shrubs, uncon- 

 scious of the numerous comments and ar- 

 guments that have been published concern- 

 ing them, are both drumming, neither of 

 them upon a log, but in plain sight of each 

 other, and after the nesting season ; the 

 Bubo virginianus knows very little or noth- 

 ing about any Snowy Owl, and never yet 

 in our recollection had a quarrel, though 

 he may have if he grows to be old enough ; 

 a bird of prey, probably an Eagle, appears 

 just above the horizon seeking its daily food ; 

 a number of graceful Swallows skim through 

 the air, curving in every conceivable direc- 

 tion in search of noxious insects ; two little 

 fellows sit together upon what they perhaps 

 suppose a telegraph wire, discussing the 

 theme of house-keeping, and reflecting, no 

 doubt, upon their lateness in nesting ; the 

 Downy Woodpecker has, notwithstanding 

 the healthy appearance of the tree, found 

 something upon the bark that seems to en- 

 gage its attention. We have spent much 

 time upon our picture, and sincerely hope 

 that it will lend its influence in making 

 many lovers of the winged beautiful. 



A USEFUL Preparation for Natural- 

 ists. — The value of Mr. Collins' Preserva- 

 tive for birds will be at once recognized by 

 collectors who are obliged to delay the skin- 

 ning of their specimens in warm or even 

 cold weather. We have severely tested 

 the preservative qualities of the prepai'atiou, 

 and can recommend it as an article quite 

 indispensable to every working naturalist. 

 The birds may be skinned at leisure, and 

 the preparation does not injure them in 

 any way. 



A large number of patrons have, since 

 the publication of our announcements, sub- 



