Dec, 1882.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



183 



The Great American Egg-hog. 



Tbis appellation, decidedly more de- 

 served than elegant, is, I am sorry to say, 

 a iiuiiie ajiplieable to a great many so- 

 called oologists. Many collectors, espec- 

 ially the more youthful members of the 

 brotherhood, seem to lose sight of what, 

 at least, should be their ultimate object — 

 the advancement of the science with the 

 least possible injury to the welfare and 

 happiness of the l)irds. Of course a 

 good, complete series of all the rarer eggs 

 of your region, and, in the rarest species, 

 perhaps as many as possible would always 

 be desu-able ; but to accumulate great 

 numbers of the commoner eggs, even if 

 well kept in sets, is entirely useless and 

 out of place. A typical clutch or two, with 

 whatever marked variations may come un- 

 der your notice, should be sufficient. In 

 the case of the Song Sparrow (Melosptza 

 fasciata, which I mention onaccoiuitof its 

 al)un dance and the great variety of its 

 egg-markings,) a few commonlj' marked 

 sets, and some showing the extremes, 

 would for all ordinary purposes be ade- 

 quate, except in case an individual should 

 be working up the oology of the Frin- 

 gillklie, or something of a simOar plan. 



On entering a new region — ornitholog- 

 ically new, I mean — it would undoubtedly 

 be advisable to collect (I was going to say 

 as many sets as possible) at least enough 

 to be able to stock your own cabinet, and 

 to present your oological friends with a 

 few good examjjles of all the species you 

 may fall in with, not to mention a donation 

 to some public museum. Again, speci 

 mens of the same sjaecies from various lo- 

 calities are often very desirable, especially 

 if there be anj' great difference in latitude 

 or altitude between the places. But in 

 the case of some of our Waders, the 

 Jlerodiones for example, where vast num- 

 bers breed in a com])aratively restricted 

 area, it is very diftVrent. The eggs as a 

 rule, present no notable variation in either 



size, color, or shajie, and rarely in num- 

 ber. To enter one of these " Heronries" 

 and to deliberately gather as many eggs 

 as can conveniently be carried away in a 

 basket, is conduct which could hardly be 

 suqjassed by the vagabond and ruffian, 

 and which certainly " is not becoming of a 

 gentleman and a naturalist." Of course I 

 understand that the plea for such behav- 

 ior is always " exchange," but nine men 

 out of ten prefer to collect their own 

 specimens when possible, and in our com- 

 moner Eastern species, I am sorry to say 

 the " exchange" is only too often for 

 "tilthy lucre.' — Louis A. Zere(ja, 3 East 

 T2d Street, New York City. 



Curious Nesting Places. 



A few years ago a pau- of Pewees biiilt 

 their nest on a brace under the guards of 

 the steam ferry boat running between Port- 

 land and Middletown, Conn., the boat mak- 

 ing trips every ten minutes. They seemed 

 to claim Middletown as their home, as they 

 appeared to collect their building material 

 on that side of the river. "When the boat 

 was on this side they would wait patiently, 

 sitting on the piles until she came into the 

 sli]5, although I have occasionally seen them 

 Hy out and meet the boat in the midtlle of 

 the river. " John." the veteran collector, 

 (he has been on this ferry thirty years.) 

 took quite an interest m them and did 

 what I doubt he never did before — let anj'- 

 thing cross on this boat w-ithout collecting 

 the fare. The birds did well and we watched 

 them until the young left the nest. 



I have a bad habit of waking ujj about 

 four o'clock mornings, and in Summer to 

 keep out of mischief I ''ijot" around the 

 garden until breakfast time. One morn- 

 ing last Spring I noticed a Bluebird flying 

 towards the house with her bill full of dried 

 grass. I watched her. and you would never 

 guess where she went with it — right into 

 the kitchen chimney. The chimney has a 

 llat stone on top, with ojienings Ijeneath. 

 I sat down and watched the pair work most 



