12 



species build. It often happens, also, that two different birds 

 have their nests situated very close to one another ; and if they 

 be allied species, the collector may be easily deceived. Thus, it 

 has come to the writer's knowledge that the dunlin {Tringa 

 alpina) and the purple sandpiper {Tringa maritima) have had 

 their nests only a few feet apart. At first a pair of the latter 

 only were seen, which by their actions betrayed their uneasiness. 

 A short search discovered a nest with four eggs. The observer 

 was one of the best practical oologists then living, and his eye 

 at once saw that it was not the nest which he wanted; but a less 

 experienced man would doubtless have immediately concluded 

 that he had found the eggs of the rarer species. Indeed it may, 

 generally speaking, be said of most birds, that whenever they 

 have nests of their own they are also acquainted with those of 

 their neighbors, which by their actions they will often betray 

 to the collector who may be patiently watching them. Birds, 

 again, will occasionally lay their eggs — accidentally, as it were — 

 in the nests of other species, even when they are not of a para- 

 sitic nature, as the Old World cuckoos {Cuculus, Eudynamis, 

 and Oxylophus), or the cow blackbird {Molothrus pecoris) ; thus 

 eggs of the eider duck {Somateria mollissima) have been found 

 in the nest of a gull (Larus), and other similar cases are on 

 record, in some of which, from the species being nearly allied, 

 confusion might easily have arisen, though at the time no doubt 

 may have occurred in the collector's mind. 



It would be impossible in this paper to treat of the various 

 methods which may be-euccessfully employed to obtain the birds 

 to whom a nest belongs, and, in fact, these methods can gene- 

 rally be only learned by experience. It is sufficient to indicate 

 here the use of traps, snares, hingles, or bird-lime, in cases where 

 the individuals are too shy to admit of being shot by the gun or 

 rifle. Much may often be gathered by the collector from the 

 practice of the natives, especially if they be savages, or half 

 civilized. In like manner it would too much extend these sug- 

 gestions to give a detailed account of the different ways in which 

 the nests of birds are to be found. The experience of a single 

 season is to most men worth a whole volume that might be writ- 

 ten on the subject. Nevertheless, a few hints are given further 

 on, which might not occur to the beginner. 



