THE OOLOGIST. 



103 



Medal, a Silver Medal, and a Bronze 

 Medal. 



Illustrations. — Photographs may be 

 exhibited in portfolios, in wall frames, 

 or in wall cabinets. Photographic 

 prints should be mounted on heavy 

 card-board 28 inches in height and 22 

 inches wide. For the color, court gray 

 is recommended. Portfolios of photo- 

 graphs accompanying exhibits will 

 form a very effective presentation of 

 useful data, and will also prove invalu- 

 able to the Jury of Awards when pass- 

 ing upon the exhibits they illustrate. 

 Tarleton H. Bean, 



Chief, Department Fish and Game. 

 Approved: 

 F. J. V. Skiff, 



Director of Exhibits. 



The Nesting of Birds. 



All habits in bird life are interesting, 

 but the home life, nest and eggs, are 

 more apt to appeal to our sentiments. 

 Strangely enough the collectors, as a 

 ruie, collect specimes with but little re- 

 gard to the natural history of the 

 species, and are only too often utterly 

 deficient in the merest knowledge of 

 the subject of ornithology. Collecting is 

 generally a fad, and often detrimental, 

 as it is not properly compassed. Col- 

 lecting is a transitory freak of a class 

 of youths or adults, and if properly 

 conducted is admirable, whether fol- 

 lowed in the line of birds or any other 

 branch of natural history. Too many 

 lose sight of the main points of deepest 

 interest in collecting, by believing that 

 the amassing of a lot of specimens is all 

 there is in the study, whereas the deep- 

 est interest is found in investigation, 

 and in keeping a record of observa- 

 tions. A, well kept note book is worth 

 more than the largest collection in the 

 world, if the collector is unobservant as 

 the large majority of fad collectors are. 

 To all I would say, do not think that 

 the gathering of a collection of birds, 



eggs, or any other class of specimens is 

 the sole object of a naturalist. Be lib- 

 eral in your investigations of nature 

 and science, and in your rambles ob- 

 serve the flowers, birds and reptiles, 

 insects and their representatives in the 

 great field of nature. And I warn you, 

 that if you want to continue as a lover 

 of mother nature, that you must not 

 neglect the various departments of in- 

 terest in the field and wood. The boy 

 who takes notes and studies intelligent- 

 ly, even if he does not collect, is far 

 superior to the one who gathers a mass 

 of specimens without any knowledge 

 on the subject. Many there are, who, 

 unlettered and lacking in many ways, 

 are still observers, and with whom it is 

 a pleasure to associate, while insipid 

 fad collectors are often found to be ut- 

 terly without merit in conversation up- 

 on the subjects with which they should 

 be familiar. 



There are very few species of birds 

 which are not given to the habit of 

 assisting one another, and this is espec- 

 ially so during the period of incuba- 

 tion. Over forty species of Michigan 

 birds are known to share, male and 

 female alike, in the duties of nest build- 

 ing, brooding and the care of the 

 young. It is quite possible that all 

 male birds lend their assistance, in 

 some way, for I have observed co-opera- 

 tion in the pair in over sixty species, and 

 am led to think that all, or nearly all, 

 assist in all of the duties incident to 

 nesting. Most species in the great lake 

 region share in the care of the eggs and 

 nest, and the male takes the place of 

 the mother bird while she seeks food. 

 Often the male is found to feed his 

 mate while she is sitting, and I have 

 observed the trait among the birds of 

 prey, some of the shore birds,|particular- 

 ly the Spotted Sandpiper, and in many 

 of the perching birds, among which the 

 habit is well known. I have yet to learn 

 of a Grouse or Quail feeding its mate 

 on the nest, and owing to the nature of 



