16 



THE OOLOGIST 



Paraphernalia Points. 



The most important phase of collect- 

 ing is to be methodical and systemat- 

 ic and to proceed well prepared for 

 all contingencies. Much time may be 

 saved, many a slip avoided by being 

 well heeled as to the necessary and 

 tabooing the unnecessary in the field. 

 In a back number of the Condor the 

 fortunate collector who took the nest 

 and sets of the Western Evening Gros- 

 fceck, mentions a device of Mr. Chas. 

 Littlejohn's for collecting sets in in- 

 accessible locations and a packing box 

 — such accessories would be indeed in- 

 teresting, and would be of much aid 

 to the average collector, and it is to 

 be hoped that the inventor will let 

 his brethern of the oological field have 

 some idea about the contraptions by 

 giving the Condor or the Oologist 

 readers an account and that the edi- 

 tors will transmit the request. There 

 should be a mutual interest and certain- 

 ly a mutual benefit in the exchange 

 of new notions and novel points of col- 

 lecting outfits and original methods 

 of field and useful tricks. Half the 

 difficulty in collecting the rare sets 

 lies in locating the nests, then comes 

 the rub of landing the prize and next 

 the caring of what is required. 



The best method of locating nesti 

 is undoubtedly in watching the parent 

 birds where they are feeding or sing- 

 ing. If it is the breeding season the 

 nest usually is not far from the birds, 

 though they sometimes wander far 

 from the nest. What has been termed 

 the "Singing Tree" as mentioned in 

 the Auk under that title sometime ago, 

 seems to be an important item. The 

 birds haunt certain radius, usually a 

 short one, and in the nearby trees, the 

 collector may accustom himself to the 

 spot and learn the average distance 

 that the nest is likely to be at, from 

 such a given point, as the singing tree, 

 there the birds accustom themselves 



and frequent, and sing a while away 

 from the nearby nest. How often does 

 it happen that a collector goes into a 

 field not well prepared and finds exact- 

 ly what he does not expect to find in 

 the way of rarety but has to forego 

 securing it because of some outfit. On 

 the other hand what a pleasure it is 

 to feel fully prepared and find that 

 the outfit fits exactly with the con- 

 ditions encountered. I have never 

 seen a list of what might be termed a 

 complete oological outfit and the vari- 

 ous lists noted were incomplete or 

 suited to special conditions or environ- 

 ment. 



Hornady gives admirable lists on his 

 year in the Jungles and Methods. Davis 

 gives lists in his Taxidermy; Chap- 

 man also mentions the desirable in his 

 directories, and others likewise but 

 while these include many useful 

 articles there is a lack of complete- 

 ness. Of course much depends on the 

 nature of the country one expects to 

 negotiate, and the length of time and 

 the means of transportation, and the 

 species of game. Also whether one 

 may have to depend on the country for 

 accommoaations or whether one takes 

 a camp outfit along. The best single 

 item in the collector's outfit apart from 

 the gun is a burro. They are sure 

 footed, enduring, good-natured, and 

 can always go anywhere you would 

 go yourself. Of course the first es- 

 sential of the field is the gun itself. 

 The old reliable 12 is best but if I 

 were to have the choice of a single 

 barrel 1 would choose a 22 rifle and 

 take plenty of dust shot shells. There 

 is a 22 shot shell now on market and 

 these are excellent where a shorter 

 range is desired. 1 have not seen 

 enough to talk about the 22 dust shot 

 cartridge. The 32 auxiliary is the one 

 that I prefer. I have killed birds as 

 large as bittern with it and in the 

 Great Dismal Swamp where all the 



