36 



THE OOLOGIST 



Tfte Qorogssi 



FIFTH PUBLICATION YEAR. 



NOVEMBER, 1879. 



ANNOUNCEMENT. 



THHE friends of The Oologist, so long 

 left in suspense as to the future of this 

 journal, will be glad to know that perma- 

 nent arrangements have been made to con- 

 tinue it. The demands of more important 

 business and the consequent disadvantage 

 of insufficient time to do full justice to the 

 study, compelled the unfortunate, though 

 happily temporary, suspension. The edit- 

 or is pleased to state that The Oologist 

 has been transferred entire to Mr. Jos. M. 

 Wade, of Roekville, Conn., who will spare 

 no pains or expense to make it in every 

 sense of the word a standard journal of Ool- 

 ogy, conducted purely in behalf of the or- 

 nithologists of America, unbiassed and 

 straightforward. In its new hands. The 

 Oologist will pursue more vigorously than 

 ever the exposition of new and important 

 ornithological and especially oological facts. 

 The editorial work will in great part be un- 

 der the supervision of S. L. Willard, whose 

 note-book will at all times be at the service 

 of the journal. Extended experience and 

 ample means will imbue in the journal new 

 energy ; while its progression will be mark- 

 ed with improvements of a most valuable 

 and permanent nature. Oui* young oolog- 

 ical friends are invited to urge their com- 

 panions to unite in making this journal an 

 honor to oological science. 



ELABORATE NIDIFIGATION. 



rFHE nests of birds in general may be 

 •^ considered one of the most notable ex- 

 amples of instinctive ability for construct- 

 iveness in animals. And since the process 

 of nidification involves the use and combi- 

 nation of materials which produce struct- 

 ures alike symmetrical and strong, we are 

 justified in calling them, collectively, elab- 

 orate. But, however well this broad ap- 

 plication of the term may express what is 

 trueof nest construction in general, the spe- 

 cific meaning of elaborate in this connection 

 points to some artistic quality in one nest, 

 which we do not see in another, either 

 (first) that of the same species ; or (sec- 

 ond) that of a different species. We read- 

 ily understand why the nests of different 

 species vary in detail, but we are frequent- 

 ly puzzled to account for the dissimilarity 

 between two nests of the same species, one 

 of which we call quite elaborate, the other 

 shabby. We are, nevertheless, aware of 

 these latter differences, and to such an ex- 

 tent that we are not only tempted to, but 

 do. call an ordinarily plain nest elaborately 

 built, when we see some singular material 

 used or combined with the other substances 

 in a difterent manner than usual. It is this 

 kind of elaboration that our title was in- 

 tended to convey, rather than normal per- 

 fection ; and not necessarily that beauty 

 and strength be attained, but that the birds 

 had taken unusual pains to adorn their 

 homes with such odd materials as had tak- 

 en their fancy. 



If we should choose to dispose of the por- 

 tion of our subject just mentioned, we nat- 

 urally would turn our attention to the nests 

 of the smaller birds, the Sparrows, Warb- 

 lers and Thrushes, for evidence. Collect- 

 ors who have been in the field for any con- 

 siderable period have frequently taken birds' 

 nests which bore traces of the whims of 

 the builders — what we might perhaps call 

 a choice made without reference to the in- 

 stinctive selection of the species. The sur- 

 roundings and character of the nest do not 

 suggest any use for the new materials, and 



